LIBRARY 


r 


INSIDE   VIEW 


OP 


SLAVERY: 


OR   A 


TOUR  AMONG   THE   PLANTERS. 


BY  C.  G.  PARSONS,  M.  D., 

WITH     AN     INTRODUCTORY     NOTE    BY 

MRS.  H.  B.  STOWE. 


FOURTH    THOUSAND. 


BOSTON- 
PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  P.  JEWETT  AND  COMPANY. 
CLEVELAND,  OHIO: 

JEWETT,  PROCTOR  AND  WORTHINGTON. 
1855. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  A.  D.  1855, 

by  C.  G.  PARSONS  &  CO. 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Maine. 


B.   THUKSTON 

Electrotyper,  and  Steam  Printer, 

Portland,  Maine. 


F 


449 

•j» 


PREFATORY  NOTE.  —  The  following  work  is  little  more  than  a  record 
of  facts  seen  and  learned  during  an  extensive  tour  in  the  Southern 
States  in  1852  and  1853,  from  a  journal  made  at  the  time.  This  tour 
was  made,  and  the  notes  had  been  used  by  the  author  as  the  basis  of  a 
series  of  lectures  delivered  in  several  of  the  New  England  States,  before 
any  other  "  view  "  of  slavery  had  been  published.  Neither  its  origin 
nor  its  preparation  has  been  induced,  therefore,  by  any  publication  that 
has  preceded  it. 

The  manuscript  copy,  as  originally  prepared  for  the  press,  contained 
the  entire  names  of  individuals  and  places.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
publisher  many  of  these  names  have  been  suppressed,  or  the  initials 
only  inserted.  But  as  this  has  been  dene  solely  from  a  regard  for  the 
feelings  of  the  individuals  referred  to,  —  many  of  whom  are  the  author's 
personal  friends, — any  one  desiring  to  obtain  the  names,  with  the  view 
of  testing  the  truth  of  any  statements  contained  in  the  volume,  can  do 
so  by  applying  to  him,  or  to  the  publisher.  C.  G.  P. 

Windham,  Jlug.  1,  1855. 


•OO 


INSIDE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY. 


"  When  Freedom,  on  her  natal  day, 

Within  her  war-rocked  cradle  lay, 

An  iron  race  around  her  stood, 

Baptized  her  infant  brow  in  blood, 

And,  through  the  storm  which  round  her  swept, 

Their  constant  ward  and  watching  kept. 


"  Our  fathers  to  their  graves  have  gone 
Their  strife  is  past,  —  their  triumph  won  ; 
But  sterner  trials  wait  the  race 
Which  rises  in  their  honored  place  — 
A  moral  warfare  with  the  crime 
And  folly  of  an  evil  time. 

"  So  let  it  be.     In  God's  own  might 

We  gird  us  for  the  coming  fight, 

And,  strong  in  Him  whose  cause  is  ours, 

In  conflict  with  unholy  powers, 

We  grasp  the  weapons  He  has  given,  — 

The  Light,  and  Truth,  and  Love  of  Heaven!" 

WHITHER. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  —  By  Mrs.  H.  B.  Stowe,    -      11 

I.  —  PRELIMINARY  REMARKS, 13 

II.  — ARRIVAL  AT  SAVANNAH, 20 

III.  —  ARE  THE  SLAVES  CONTENTED  ?    -    -    -    -    29 

IV.  —  CHRISTMAS  IN  SAVANNAH, 40 

V.  —  ILLUSIONS  OF  SLAVERY, 53 

VI.  —  WHY  THE  XORTII  PROSPERS,      ....       62 

VII.  —  RESOURCES  OF  THE  SOUTH, G7 

VIII.  —  SOUTHERN  AGRICULTURE, 78 

IX. — YANKEE  AND  SLAVEHOLDER  COMPARED,      -  96 

X. —  PRIVATE  AND  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS,     -    -    -  106 

XL  —  THE  PARTING  SCENE, 118 

XII.  —  SLAVEHOLDERS  AS  BUSINESS  MEN,     -    -  125 

XIII. — SOUTHERN  SPORTS, 135 

XIV.  —  TREATMENT  OF  SLAVES, 150 


CONTENTS. 

XY.  —  FOOTPRINTS  OP  SLAVERY; 163 

XVI.  —  No  SYMPATHY  FOR  SLAVES,  ...    -  173 

XVII.  —  SOUTHERN  JURISPRUDENCE,    -    -    -    -  186 
XVIII. —  SLAVERY  HARDENS  THE  HEART,   -    -  203 

XIX.  —  SLAVERY  AND  EDUCATION,       -    -    -    -  232 

XX.  —  SLAVERY  AND  THE  SABBATH,  -    ...  254 
XXL  —  SLAVERY  AND  CHRISTIANITY,  -    <•    -    -  269 
XXII. — WAYSIDE  NOTES, 286 

XXIII.  —  THE  GIANT  SLAVE, 300 

XXIV,  —  THE  ETHIOPIAN  SOCRATES,     -    -    -  .311 


INTRODUCTION. 


WE  have  in  this  book  the  simple,  straightforward 
narrative  of  an  impartial  witness,  whose  relationships 
and  business  brought  him  into  intimate  connections 
with  all  the  phases  of  Southern  society. 

It  is  truly,  as  its  title  indicates,  an  inside  view  of 
slavery,  —  a  view  which  could  only  be  taken  by  one 
brought  into  intimate  association  with  the  society  de 
scribed,  jf 

It  appears  to  be  candid  and  fair  in  its  spirit — to 
extenuate  nothing,  nor  set  down  ought  in  malice,  —  and 
the  facts  carry  their  own  authentication  with  them. 

We  recommend  to  all  unprejudiced,  or  even  preju 
diced  persons,  to  read  it.  If  they  once  begin,  they 
will  not  be  likely  to  leave  before  the  book  is  fin- 


xii.  INTRODUCTION. 

ished.  And  having  read  it,  we  hope  they  will  ask 
themselves  the  question  —  are  these  things  so?  —  and 
if  they  are,  —  have  /  any  duties  to  perform  respect 
ing  them  ?  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  America 
has  a  personal  interest  in  the  question — what  is  slav 
ery? —  and  every  person  is  morally  bound  to  form  a 
correct  opinion  with  regard  to  it. 

This  book  is  earnestly  commended,  therefore,  to  the 
attention  of  all  who  wish  an  intelligent  answer  to  that 
question.  H.  B.  STOWE. 

Andover,  August  8th,  1855., 


INSIDE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY, 
I. 

A  TOUR  AMONG  THE  PLANTERS. 


"  Oh  !  come  to  the  South,  where  my  servants  shall  all 
Depart  at  thy  bidding,  and  come  at  thy  call,  — 
Where  the  shade  of  the  palm  tree  is  over  my  home, 
And  the  lemon  and  orange  are  white  in  their  bloom ! " 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  age  in 
which  we  live,  is  the  spirit  of  reform  that  everywhere 
pervades  it.  It  is  confined  to  no  nation  or  country. 
The  whole  civilized  world  is  alive  with  it.  Before  its 
searching  scrutiny,  no  abuse  is  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed. 
It  finds  its  way  into  the  prisons  and  cloisters  of  Europe, 
to  deliver  their  inmates,  or  ameliorate  their  condition. 
It  attacks  despotism,  alike  in  church  and  state.  It  strikes 
at  systems  hoary  with  age  and  crime,  and  exposes  their 
enormities;  —  while  it  brings  the  habits  and  practices 
of  men,  —  though  sanctioned  by  fashion  and  custom,  —  to 
the  test  of  its  searching  scrutiny.  Like  Ithuriel's  spear, 
it  touches  everything,  however  disguised,  that  tends  to 
2 


14  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY 

degrade,  or  injure,  or  debase  mankind,  and  reveals  it  to 
the  world,  in  all  its  native  ugliness  and  deformity. 

This  spirit,  as  now  developed  with  special  prominence 
in  this  country,  relates  to  the  two  great  evils  of  the 
land,  —  slavery,  and  intemperance.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  it  is  limited  to  these.  It  has  no  limit,  within 
the  range  of  human  welfare.  But  as  these  evils  are  now 
engrossing  a  large  share  of  public  attention,  so  the  voice 
of  reform  is  calling  loudly  for  some  way  of  deliverance. 
The  question  of  remedy  is  more  properly  within  the 
sphere  of  political  discussion  j  —  but  the  evils  themselves, 
as  they  deeply  affect  moral,  social,  and  physical  life,  en 
ter  into  almost  every  field  of  literary  effort. 

The  observations  which  have  resulted  in  the  prepara 
tion  of  this  volume  were  made  more  minutely,  as  well  as 
more  extensively,  in  Georgia  than  in  any  other  State. 
The  early  settlement  of  that  State  was  begun  under 
more  favorable  auspices  than  attended  the  birth  of  any 
other, — not  excepting  even  Massachusetts.  The  found 
ers  of  the  colony  of  Georgia  seem  to  have  had  some 
premonitions  of  the  evils  that  were  afterwards  to  afflict 
our  country,  —  and  they  sought  to  avert  them.  Under 
their  first  charter,  therefore,  the  introduction  of  slavery, 
and  the  importation  of  spirituous  liquors  were  both  ex 
pressly  prohibited.  How  different  would  have  been  the 
condition  of  that  State,  and,  perhaps,  of  the  whole  nation, 
if  those  provisions  had  been  maintained  to  this  day ! 

But  the  adjacent  colony  of  South  Carolina  was  thickly 
populated  with  slaves,  and  the  evil  example  was  conta 
gious.  Like  the  ancient  Hebrews  when  they  desired  a 


A   TOUR   AMONG   THE   PLANTERS.  15 

king,  —  wishing  to  be  like  their  neighbors,  they  at  length 
became  so.  As  the  population  increased,  and  the  inhab 
itants  became  closely  connected  in  business,  the  anti- 
slavery  clause  in  their  code  began  to  be  violated  with 
impunity,  and  in  1749  it  was  abrogated. 

The  same  struggle  and  defeat  on  the  temperance  ques 
tion  had  already  been  seen.  As  early  as  1736  a  cargo 
of  liquors,  brought  into  Savannah  by  the  Carolina  tra 
ders,  was  seized  by  the  civil  authorities,  and  publicly 
destroyed,  - —  and  the  traders  were  imprisoned.  Perhaps 
nothing  in  the  early  colonial  histories  approaches  nearer 
to  the  "  Maine  Law"  than  this.  But  it  was  too  far  in  ad 
vance  of  the  age,  to  stand.  Adverse  influences  from  the 
neighboring  colonies,  —  especially  from  South  Caroli 
na, —  together  with  the  power  of  appetite  and  interest 
at  home,  finally  gained  the  victory,  —  and  the  prohibition 
was  removed. 

There  are  few  Northern  men  who  have  not  relatives, 
or  intimate  friends,  in  the  South.  State  sovereignty  and 
citizenship,  local  attachments,  the  sacred  associations  of 
home,  all  yield  to  the  centrifugal  forces  of  active  life, 
and  families  are  scattered  until,  perhaps,  each  member 
resides  in  a  different  State.  But  the  strong  ties  of  early 
affection,  though  lacerated,  are  not  destroyed.  The  com 
panions  of  childhood  are  remembered,  and  if  we  are  not 
able  to  revisit  them  among 

"  The  smiling  hills,  the  spacious,  fertile  vales, 
Where  oft  we  wandered,  plucking  vernal    flowers, 
And  reveled^in  the  odor-breathing  gales, 

\ve  long  for  them  to  visit  us  where  another  home  has 


16  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

been  hallowed  by  new  associations.  And  hence,  though 
there  are  repulsions  in  religion  and  politics,  and  sec 
tional  controversies  have  arisen,  the  warm  greeting  and 
kind  invitation  are  still  sent  and  returned.  And,  thanks 
to  a  good  Providence,  whatever  have  been  the  recrimina 
tions  of  politicians,  and  whatever  blemishes  there  may 
be  upon  the  character  of  our  people,  either  North  or 
South,  this  spirit  of  generous  hospitality  and  warm 
hearted  social  intercourse  is  not  yet  dead  ! 

From  the  commencement  of  the  anti-slavery  move 
ment  in  this  country,  I  have  been  deeply  interested  in 
its  progress ;  and  though  I  have  never  believed  it  neces 
sary,  in  order  to  understand  this  subject,  that  one  should 
visit  the  slave  States,  r<till  I  had  long  wished  to  do  so. 
I  felt  certain  that  there  must  be,  among  the  effects  of  the 
slave  system,  facts  that  would  arrest  the  attention  and 
awaken  the  sympathy  of  Northern  men  more  than  could 
be  done  by  discussing  its  abstract  principles.  I  there 
fore  determined  to  know,  from  actual  observation,  the 
workings  and  results  of  this  system. 

In  the  autumn  of  1852,  I  made  my  arrangements  for 
,a  tour  in  the  Southern  States.  I  had  a  number  of  rela 
tives  in  Georgia  whom  I  desired  to  visit ;  and  as  some 
of  them  were  slaveholders,  and  all  of  them  so  situated 
that  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  their  southern 
homes  would  bring  me  into  close  contact  with  slavery, 
I  designed  to  avail  myself  of  every  opportunity  which 
the  occasion  might  afford  for  a  thorough  investigation. 
The  fact  that  I  had  influential  friends  connected  with 
the  system,  gave  me,  probably,  a  nearer  access  to  its 


A    TOUR   AMONG  THE  PLANTERS.  17 

secret  operations  than  had  ever  been  enjoyed  by  any  one 
not  supposed  to  be  in  favor  of  it.  The  time  of  my  visit 
was  also  opportune,  being  after  the  compromise  meas 
ures  had  been  adopted  in  Congress.  The  pulpit  and  the 
press  had  proclaimed  that  all  "  agitation  had  ceased/' 
and  that  the  "anti-slavery  cause  was  dead."  In  the 
South  this  was,  to  some  extent,  believed  to  be  true ;  and 
the  espionage  of  slaveholders  over  the  movements  of 
Northern  men  was  less  than  had  been  known  before  for 
many  years. 

During  my  sojourn  in  the  South,  I  traveled  through, 
Florida,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  Virginia,  and  the  Caro- 
linas.  Thus  I  learned  that  the  agricultural  system  of 
all  the  slave  States  is  generally  the  same.  But  my  in 
quiries  into  the  condition  and  the  business  habits  of  the 
people,  the  institutions  of  learning  and  religion,  and  the 
whole  modus  operandi  of  the  slave  system,  in  its  effects 
upon  masters,  non- slaveholders,  and  slaves,  were  made 
more  particularly  in  the  State  of  Georgia.  And,  per 
haps,  no  single  State  exhibits  a  fairer  view  of  the  whole 
system.  Though  not  in  so  mild  a  form  as  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  still  darker  and  more  cruel  aspects  of  it 
may  be  seen  in  the  Carolinas,  and  the  South  \Yestern 
States. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  man 
ners  and  customs  of  the  people,  and  their  modes  of 
doing  business,  I  engaged,  at  different  times,  in  various 
occupations.  In  no  other  way  can  a  stranger  become 
acquainted  with  men  and  things.  For  some  time  I  trav 
eled  in  the  interior;  as  agent  for  a  commission  house  in 


18  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

the  city  of  Savannah;  purchasing  cotton,  corn,  hides,  &c. 
At  another  time  I  was  employed  by  a  lumber  company 
that  was  building  mills  in  the  country,  to  superintend 
the  operation,  and  take  charge  of  the  manufacturing 
business.  Here  were  slaveholders  and  slaves  laboring 
together,  living  in  log  cabins,  eating  from  the  same  dish, 
and  sleeping  on  the  same  floor,  or  on  the  ground,  at 
night.  One  of  the  owners  was  a  Presbyterian  clergy 
man,  and  a  slaveholder,  but  the  smartest  man  to  work 
we  had  in  the  "crowd."  The  "master  builder"  was 
also  a  minister,  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  He  was  a 
native  Georgian,  but  a  thorough  going  abolitionist.  The 
subject  of  slavery  was  frequently  and  fully  discussed 
among  us,  and  its  injurious  effects  on  industrial  pursuits 
were  admitted  by  all. 

No  one  can  understand  much  of  slavery  by  looking  at 
the  features  which  it  presents  in  the  northern  slave 
States.  The  influence  of  free  labor,  and  Northern  insti 
tutions,  here  modifies  the  system,  and  either  banishes  or 
conceals  many  barbarous  practices  which  are  common 
farther  south.  The  master,  even  if  unconscious  of  it, 
feels  the  influence  of  public  sentiment,  and  often  seeks 
to  palliate  the  great  wrong  by  kind  treatment. 

Neither  can  any  one  see  and  know  what  slavery  is  by 
visiting  only  the  cities  and  large  villages  in  the  southern 
slave  States.  Here,  as  in  the  States  farther  north,  the 
slaveholder  is  surrounded  by  influences  that  change  the 
external  features  of  the  system,  and  tend  to  check  its 
excesses.  Those  men  who  are  prominent  in  the  learned 
professions,  and  most  successful  in  business,  are  many, 


A   TOUil   AMONG   THE  PLANTERS.  19 

if  not  most  of  them,  from  the  North.  If  we  inquire  of 
the  most  enterprising;  wealthy  merchants  in  the  cities, 
not  only  on  the  coast,  but  in  the  interior  of  the  slave 
States,  where  they  originated,  they  will  point  us  to  their 
remote  country  homes  in  New  England,  where  they  first 
saw  the  light,  where  their  early  years  of  life  were  em 
ployed  in  vigorous  exercise  on  the  rough  farm  in  sum 
mer,  and  in  the  common  school  in  winter.  These  men 
learned  the  value  of  schools  and  churches  before  they 
left  their  good  old  puritan  homes,  and  they  have  strug 
gled  manfully  to  maintain  these  institutions,  in  spite  of 
the  downward  tendencies,  and  the  untoward  influences 
of  the  slave  system.  And  they  have  also/e/^  that  labor 
ing  men  need  wholesome,  nutritious  food  to  stimulate 
the  muscle,  and  quiet  rest  at  night,  on  a  comfortable  bed, 
to  restore  tone  to  the  nerves.  Such  men  care  for  the 
condition  of  their  servants.  The  legitimate  effects  of 
slavery  are  not  fully  developed  in  their  families,  though 
the  slaves  probably  experience  great  sufferings  in  the 
best  condition,  which  the  stranger  cannot  perceive,  nor 
even  the  master  know. 

But  to  understand  what  slavery  is,  we  must  go  into  the 
planting  districts,  and  see  the  " live  Crackers"  as  the 
inhabitants  of  those  districts  are  familiarly  called.  Here 
we  behold  the  native  slaveholder  alone  with  his  slaves, 
having  no  Northern  men  about  him  to  influence  his  con 
duct,  to  check  the  full  indulgence  of  his  appetites,  or  re 
strain  his  passions.  Here,  and  here  only,  can  we  see 
slavery  as  it  is.  No  where  else  are  its  legitimate  results 
and  real  influences  so  fully  disclosed. 


II. 


A  TOUR  AMONG  THE  PLANTERS. 

"  By  storied  hill  and  hallowed  grot, 
By  mossy  wood  and  marshy  glen, 
Whence  rang  of  old  the  rifle  shot, 
And  hurrying  shout  of  Marion's  men, 
The  groan  of  breaking  hearts  is  there  — 
The  falling  lash,  the  fetters'  clank ! 
Slaves  —  slaves  are  breathing  in  that  air, 
Which  old  DeKalb  and  Sumpter  drank ! 

WHITTIEE. 

THE  Southern  Colonies  did  not  distinguish  themselves 
in  the  Revolutionary  "War.  Savannah  and  Charleston 
successively  surrendered  to  the  British  arms,  and  at  last, 
Georgia  and  both  the  Carolinas  were  abandoned  to  the 
British  power.  The  Southern  army  was  nearly  destroyed, 
and  the  remnant  withdrawn  from  the  field.  And  yet, 
these  colonies  were  the  scenes  of  some  of  the  most  bril 
liant  exploits  and  heroic  adventures  that  arc  recorded  in 
the  history  of  that  memorable  struggle.  The  death  of 
Pulaski,  and  DeKalb,  the  daring  bravery  of  Gen.  Sump 
ter  as  he  contested  the  ground,  inch  by  inch,  with  a  su 
perior  force,  before  which  he  was  compelled  at  last  to 
retire,  the  struggles  and  triumphs  of  Marion,  Wayne, 


A   TOUR  AMONG   THE   PLANTERS.  21 

and  Morgan,  after  Gen.  Greene  had  taken  the  command 
of  the  Southern  division  of  the  army,  form  a  chapter  of 
events  not  inferior  in  interest  to  any  other.  It  was  from 
this  field  that  Kennedy  gathered  the  materials  for  his 
fine  historical  romance  "  Horse-shoe  Robinson."  And 
whatever  may  be  said  of  the  devotion  which  the  South 
exhibited  to  the  American  cause  during  the  Revolution 
ary  War,  it  must  be  admitted  that  since  that  time  she 
has  held  the  names  of  the  heroes  who  fought  and  bled 
upon  her  soil  in  grateful  remembrance.  Her  counties, 
cities,  and  towns  are  named  in  honor  of  them,  and  the 
places  consecrated  by  their  struggles  are  pointed  out  to 
strangers  as  shrines  of  patriotic  devotion.  In  a  public 
square  in  the  city  of  Savannah,  a  monument  has  been 
erected  to  the  memory  of  Gen.  Greene, —  and  another 
to  commemorate  the  fame  of  Count  Pulaski,  who  fell 
during  the  gallant  but  unsuccessful  attempt  to  retake  the 
city,  by  Gen.  Lincoln,  in  1779. 

I  arrived  in  Savannah  on  the  22d  of  November,  1852. 
This  city  is  located  upon  the  river  of  the  same  name,  18 
miles  from  its  mouth.  The  site  is  an  elevated  sandy 
plain,  about  forty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  the 
bank  of  which  was  originally  called  "  Yamacraw  Bluff  j " 
a  name,  like  that  of  the  river  itself,  of  Indian  origin. 
The  earliest  settlement  in  the  State  was  at  this  place. 
The  city  was  laid  out  by  Gen.  Oglethorpe,  in  1733,  and 
has  always  been  the  largest  commercial  depot  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  south  of  Charleston.  The  British  took 
possession  of  it  in  1778,  and  held  it  until  1783.  A  large 
portion  of  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1820,  but  so  far 


22  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

from  checking  its  prosperity,  this  disaster  resulted  in  its 
permanent  improvement.  It  was  unhealthy  in  summer, 
until  the  rice  growers  were  induced,  by  a  contribution  of 
$70,000  from  the  citizens,  to  abandon  the  practice  of 
flowing  the  rice  fields  in  the  vicinity.  The  dry  cultiva 
tion  of  rice  is  substituted,  but  to  less  profit.  The  river 
is  navigable  as  far  as  Augusta,  230  miles  from  its  mouth. 
This,  with  several  railroads  by  which  Savannah  is  con 
nected  with  the  interior,  makes  it  the  center  of  a  large 
amount  of  inland  trade.  About  350,000  bales  of  cotton 
are  annually  received  and  shipped  here,  and  in  1852, 
there  were  exported  from  this  city  40,000  casks  of  rice, 
and  25,000,000  feet  of  lumber.  In  1853  the  population 
was  23,000,  of  whom  about  10,000  were  colored. 

The  city  stands  upon  a  sandy  plain,  or  table  land.  It 
is  regularly  laid  out  with  wide,  unpaved  streets.  At 
every  alternate  corner,  there  is  reserved  a  public  square, 
planted  with  ornamental  trees.  The  most  of  these  are 
the  Pride  of  India  tree,  which  are  very  far  from  being 
beautiful  in  foliage,  or  fragrant  in  blossom.  Since  my 
return  to  the  North,  I  have  learned  that  a  large  part  of 
them  have  been  destroyed  by  a  violent  wind, —  and  if 
some  other  kind  of  tree  shall  be  substituted  for  this, 
in  a  few  years  no  one  will  regret  the  loss. 

In  the  rear  of  the  city  is  a  public  park,  containing  forty 
acres,  mostly  covered  with  the  original  pine  trees,  stand 
ing  so  far  apart  as  not  to  prevent  the  growth  of  grass, 
and  enclosed  by  a  high,  costly,  iron  fence. 

The  monument  to  Count  Pulaski,  before  mentioned, 
though  wanting  in  proportion  and  symmetry,  is  an  honor 


A   TOUR   AMONG   THE  PLANTERS.  23 

to  the  city,  and  an  ornament  to  the  beautiful  square  in 
front  of  the  large  hotel  by  the  same  name. 

No  one  of  the  fourteen  churches  would  be  called  ele 
gant,  except  the  Independent  Presbyterian,  which  is  truly 
magnificent.  It  cost  $120,000.  It  is  built  of  light  mar 
ble,  and  has  wide  aisles  with  marble  floors.  Retreating 
sky-blue  niches  between  the  windows,  for  monuments, 
add  beauty  to  the  interior ;  and  the  whole  edifice,  both 
within  and  without,  for  symmetry  and  beauty  is  probably 
not  surpassed  in  the  country. 

Savannah  exhibits  unmistakable  signs  of  enterprise, 
refinement,  and  wealth.  Many  of  the  dwelling  houses 
are  spacious  and  elegant,  the  stores  are  large  and  well 
filled.  In  the  heart  of  the  city  every  thing  imparts  to 
the  view  of  the  stranger  an  idea  of  comfort ;  but  in  the 
suburbs,  the  low,  dingy,  dirty,  squalid,  cheerless  negro 
huts,  remind  the  Northern  visitor  of  the  fearful  price 
paid  by  one  class  to  support  another. 

The  principal  business  is  based  on  the  great  staple, 
cotton.  During  my  first  visit  to  the  place,  nine  trains 
came  down  the  Central  Railroad  daily,  with  from  twenty 
to  thirty  cars  in  each  train,  loaded  mountain  high  with 
this  article.  The  depots  and  plank  yards,  covering  sev 
eral  acres,  were  groaning  constantly  under  the  immense 
burden,  while  long  trains  of  horse  teams  were  laboring 
for  their  relief,  by  drawing  it  over  a  plank  road  a  mile 
or  more  in  length,  to  the  commission  houses.  Samples 
of  the  various  descriptions  of  cotton  are  displayed  in 
the  ante-rooms  of  the  stores,  into  which  purchasers  are 
introduced,  and  contracts  are  made  so  privately  and 


24  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

quickly  that  it  is  difficult  for  a  Yankee  to  find  out 
whether  any  business  is  done  at  all.  But  the  clerks  are 
standing,  silent,  at  their  desks,  dashing  their  pens  for 
their  lives.  Bills,  orders;  checks,  drafts,  are  exchanged, 
bales  of  cotton  are  passing  into  vessels  from  the  wharves 
as  fast  and  still  as  ripe  blossoms  from  the  trees  in  the 
spring-time,  when  shaken  with  a  strong  east  wind. 

1  spent  more  time  in  Savannah  than  in  any  other  South 
ern  city.  From  this  place  I  made  my  excursions  for  busi 
ness,  or  observation,  or  pleasure,  and  having  accom 
plished  the  object  in  view,  returned  here  again,  to  form 
new  plans,  or  complete  my  notes  of  slaver}  in  city  life. 
In  short,  I  made  this  a  sort  of  point  d'appui.  if  I  may 
use  a  military  phrase,  around  which  tho  operations  of 
my  Southern  tour  were  carried  on.  And  it  was  fortu 
nate  for  my  purpose  that  I  took  this  course.  For 
though  the  true  features  of  slavery  may  generally  bo 
seen  in  the  country  without  much  trouble,  it  is  net  so  in 
the  city,  as  has  already  been  noticed.  It  is  only  by  a 
protracted  residence,  and  a  careful  examination,  that  the 
real  condition  of  the  slaves  can  here  bo  understood. 
And  even  then,  there  are  many  who  have  had  no  special 
reasons  for  investigating  this  subject,  who  know  but  lit 
tle  about  it.  I  have  known  Northern  men  who  have 
lived  in  Southern  cities  many  years,  without  ascertaining 
whether  slaves,  belonging  to  families  in  which  they  re 
side,  have  wholesome  food,  or  comfortable  beds. 

A  few  weeks  before  I  loft  Savannah  for  the  interior, 
I  boarded  at  the  Marshall  House.  A  friend  of  mine 
who  had  boarded  at  the  same  house  for  several  years, 


A   TOUR   AMONG    THE   PLASTERS.  25 

and  who  had  become  an  advocate  of  slavery,  not  having 
witnessed  much  of  the  privations  and  smTerings  of  slaves, 
frequently  inquired  of  me  if  the  slaves  in  that  city  did 
not  appear  to  be  in  a  better  condition  than  the  colored 
population  of  the  North.  And  I  was  constrained  to  ad 
mit  that,  so  far  as  I  had  been  able  to  judge  from  what 
I  had  seen,  the  slaves  were  very  well  cared  for.  But 
before  I  left  that  house,  some  facts  came  to  my  knowl 
edge,  in  relation  to  the  treatment  of  slaves  at  the  public 
boarding  houses,  which  astonished  some  of  the  Yankees 
who  had  been  there  for  years.  And  the  disclosures 
show  that  business  relations  afford  the  best  opportuni 
ties  for  obtaining  facts. 

Mr.  Lv  of  Maine,  contracted  with  the  proprietor  of 
the  Marshall  House  for  a  lease  of  those  premises  for  sev 
eral  years.  The  keys  were  put  into  his  hands  on  the 
third  morning  of  January,  1853.  When  Mr.  L.  opened 
the  bar-room  door,  he  found  three  of  the  male  servants 
sleeping  on  narrow  boards  placed  on  chairs,  the  floor 
being  sanded,  without  a  pillow  or  a  blanket.  He  opened 
the  boot  room,  and  there  found  two  of  the  "  boot  blacks," 
in  a  room  too  short  for  them  to  lie  down  at  full  length, 
with  nothing  but  boots  for  pillows.  In  the  kitchen,  there 
were  five  female  cooks  sleeping  on  the  solid  brick  hearth. 
This  fact  was  not  disclosed  to  the  Northern  boarders 
until  this  gentleman  had  taken  charge  of  the  house.  My 
friend,  though  he  had  boarded  there  two  years,  had  not 
known  until  that  morning,  that  Mr.  Johnson's  slaves  had 
no  be'ds.  Mr.  L.  inquired  of  Mr.  J.;  if  there  were  no 
3 


26  INSIDE    VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

beds  furnished;  and  sleeping  apartments  appropriated 
to  the  slaves  ? 

"  No,"  replied  Mr.  J. ;  "  niggers  never  sleep  on  beds  in 
the  public  houses  in  this  State." 

I  mentioned  to  a  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance  who 
was  boarding  at  the  Pulaski  House,  that  we  had  mado 
the  discovery  at  the  Marshall  House,  that  the  slaves  had 
no  beds  to  rest  upon ;  to  which  he  replied, 

"  Mr.  Johnson  is  a  brute,  not  to  furnish  his  negroes 
with  beds,  for  they  have  to  work  very  hard  here  in  win 
ter." 

"  Do  they  have  beds  at  your  house  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Of  course  they  do,"  was  the  reply, 

"Are  you  sure?  Because  Mr.  Johnson  says  they 
never  have  beds  at  the  taverns." 

The  next  day,  my  friend  told  me  that  he  had  asked 
the  proprietor  at  the  Pulaski  House  what  kind  of  beds 
were  furnished  for  his  servants. 

«  Beds ! "  exclaimed  Capt.  W.,  «  don't  you  know  that 
niggers  never  sleep  on  beds  ?  Put  any  one  of  my  nig 
gers  on  the  best  bed  there  is  in  my  house,  and  he  wont 
lie  there  half  an  hour.  Niggers  prefer  sleeping  on  the 
floor." 

This  was  the  largest  hotel  in  the  State,  and  its  patrons 
were  among  the  wealthiest  and  most  refined.  There 
were  some  fifty  slaves,  or  more,  owned  or  employed 
about  the  establishment,  as  it  is  necessary  to  have  many 
more  servants  in  a  first  class  hotel  in  the  South  than  in 
the  North.  And  yet,  this  gentleman  had  boarded  there 


A   TOUR   AMONG   THE   PLANTERS.  27 

some  years,  and  having  no  special  interest  in  making  the 
inquiry,  he  had  not  learned  that  the  slaves  who  waited 
upon  him  by  day  and  by  night,  were  never  provided  with 
even  such  beds  as  Northern  farmers  furnish  their  horses. 

One  of  the  first  strange  sights  to  a  Northern  man 
on  visiting  the  cotton-growing  States,  is  the  enormous 
quantity  of  this  article  that  he  sees  wherever  lie  goes. 
In  the  streets,  in  the  storehouses;  on  the  wharves,  it  is 
constantly  before  him.  He  will  no  longer  wonder  that 
Gen.  Jackson  made  a  breastwork  of  it  in  defending  New 
Orleans.  At  or  near  the  railroad  depot  in  Savannah, 
there  are,  sometimes,  literally,  acres  of  cotton  bales. 
Standing  in  view  of  it,  and  remembering  that  this  city 
is  but  one  of  the  depots  for  this  trade,  he  can  compre 
hend,  to  some  extent,  the  remarkable  influence  which  this 
great  American  staple  exerts,  not  only  upon  industrial 
pursuits,  but  upon  the  business,  and  even  upon  the  poli 
tics  of  the  country. 

My  first  impression  was  that,  as  nearly  all  the  cotton 
raised  in  Georgia  was  shipped  from  this  port,  I  should 
find  Savannah  frequented  from  day  to  day  by  cotton- 
growers  from  the  interior.  But  I  was  mistaken.  Occa 
sionally  a  specimen  of  the  "''  Crackers  "  may  be  seen  at  a 
hotel,  but  no  one  can  form  any  correct  opinion  of  the 
manners,  customs,  or  the  intelligence  of  the  people  in 
the  back  counties  by  anything  which  he  will  sec  on  the 
seaboard.  Their  habits  are  entirely  different  from  those 
of  business  men  in  the  North.  I  found,  before  leaving 
the  South,  that  there  was  very  little  intercourse  between 
the  inhabitants  of  the  planting  districts  and  the  cities  on 
the  coast, 


28  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

I  traveled  over  the  Central  Railroad  six  times,  from 
Savannah  to  Macon,  a  flourishing  inland  city,  containing 
some  7000  inhabitants.  This  road  is  the  great  thor 
oughfare  from  the  interior  to  the  seaboard.  Only  one 
passenger  car  was  ever  attached  to  the  train.  At  one 
time,  on  a  fair  day,  there  were  only  twelve  passengers 
on  board.  The  highest  number  at  any  time  was  only 
thirty-five. 

The  "  Crackers"  send  their  negroes  and  mule  teams 
with  the  cotton  to  their  agents  at  the  railroad  depots. 
These  agents  forward  it  to  the  commission  merchants  in 
the  ports.  The  merchants  sell  it  to  shippers,  and  the 
planters  draw  on  them,  at  the  banks,  for  their  pay.  So 
that  there  is  no  necessity  for  them  to  go  to  market  them- 
aelves.  And  any  one  who  visits  the  country  remote 
from,  the  seaboard,  will  find  many  slaveholders,  who  are 
in  easy  circumstances,  who  have  never  seen  a  vessel,  or 
a  printing  press. 

As  a  general  thins:,  also,  the  tl  Crackers"  arc  very  igno 
rant.  And  I  may  as  well  state  a  fact  here,  which  I  did 
not  learn  until  some  time  after  I  first  visited  Savannah. 
There  are  few  Northern  men  who  are  not  capable  of 
ascertaining  the  quantity,  and  computing  the  value,  of 
whatever  they  send  to  market.  I  dare  say  the  instance 
was  never  known,  of  a  Northern  farmer  sending  his 
pressed  hay  to  be  sold,  without  having  it  weighed  and 
marked,  and  knowing  himself  the  amount.  But  the  cot 
ton-grower  is  frequently  incapable  of  weighing  and  mark 
ing  his  cotton,  and  is,  therefore,  obliged  to  send  it  un 
marked,  and  trust  entirely  to  the  honesty  of  the  mer 
chant  who  acts  as  his  ao;cnt. 


III. 

ARE  THE  SLAVES  CONTENTED? 


"  The  slave  happy !  You  may  place  him  where  you  please ;  —  you 
may  dry  up,  to  your  utmost,  the  fountain  of  his  feelings,  the  springs  of 
his  thought ;  —  you  may  close  upon  liis  mind  every  avenue  to  know- 
lodge,  and  cloud  it  over  with  artificial  night; — you  may  yoke  him  to 
your  labor,  as  the  ox  which  liveth  only  to  work ;  —  you  may  put  him 
under  any  process  which,  without  destroying  his  value  as  a  slave,  will 
debase  and  crush  him  as  a  rational  being  ;  —  you  may  do  this,  and  the 
idea  that  he  was  born  to  be  free  will  survive  it  all.  It  is  allied  to  his 
hopes  of  immortality  ;  it  is  the  eternal  part  of  his  nature,  which  oppres 
sion  cannot  reach.  It  is  a  torch  lit  up  in  his  soul  by  the  hand  of  the 
Deity,  that  can  never  be  extinguished  by  the  hand  of  man." 

Me.  DOWELL,  OF  VIRGINIA. 

NORTHERN  men  and  women  who  visit  their  relations  in 
the  South,  usually  find  them  in  the  cities  and  villages, 
whore  they  see  the  slaves  enjoying  the  comforts  of  a 
poor  bed,  and  other  privileges,  which  slaves  in  the  coun 
try  seldom,  if  ever,  enjoy.  They  are  liable,  therefore, 
to  form  too  favorable  opinions  of  the  condition  and 
treatment  of  the  slaves ;  and  they  often  honestly  arrive 
at  the  conclusion  that  they  are  in  a  better  condition  than 
the  poor  colored  population  of  the  North. 

Sometimes  one  is  allowed  to  inquire  of  the  slaves 
themselves  how  they  fare.  The  answer,  almost  invari 
ably,  is,  that  they  fare  well  —  have  kind  masters --are 
contented  and  happy  —  do  not  desire  their  freedom  if 


30  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

it  can  only  bo  obtained  by  leaving  the  family  of  their 
master,  and  their  good  home,  to  which  they  are  ardently 
attached ;  —  and  the  inquirer  decides  that  the  Northern 
abolitionists  have  greatly  exaggerated  their  sufferings. 
He  does  not  know  that  the  slave  has  been  educated  to 
deceive  in  these  matters ;  and  he  believes  that  he  is  con 
tented  and  happy,  simply  because  he  says  so. 

At  a  hotel  where  I  was  boarding,  in  the  city  of  Savan 
nah,  there  was  a  Christian  slave  named  "John,"  His 
wife  had  been  torn  away  from  him,  and  carried  into  the 
back  country  a  distance  of  twenty  five  miles.  John's 
affection  was  so  strong  that  he  had  several  times  "run 
away  "  to  see  her,  though  he  was  always  whipped  severely 
on  his  return.  At  last  his  master  told  him  that  he  must 
give  up  the  old  wife,  and  take  a  new  one.  Accordingly, 
lie  "  bought  a  wife  for  John,"  and  commanded  the  slave 
to  regard  and  treat  her  as  his  wife.  John  refused  to 
obey,  and  was  wrhipped,  again  and  again,  but  he  did  not 
yield.  A  Northern  gentleman,  who  was  not  acquainted 
with  these  facts,  had  frequently  asserted  that  the  slaves 
were  happy,  and  I  suggested  that  inquiries  be  made  of 
"  honest  John  "  touching  his  domestic  enjoyments.  Tho 
bell  was  rung,  and  John  came  in. 

"Now,  John,"  said  my  friend,  "I  want  you  to  tell  me 
if  you  would  like  to  be  free." 

"  O  no.  master,"  replied  John,  quickly.  "I  don't  want 
to  be  free,  no  how." 

"Then  you  have  a  kind  master,  have  you,  John?" 

"  Yes.  I  have  a  kind  master,  and  I  don't  want  to  bo 
sold  away." 

"  Then  you  prefer  to  stay  with  your  present  master 


ARE   THE    SLAVES    CONTENTED?  31 

John,  rather  than  to  be  made  free,  or  go  to  any  other 
place  to  live,  you  say  ?  " 

"I  reckon  I  rather  remain  here,"  answered  John,  "be 
cause  I  don't  know  what  worse  hands  I  may  fall  into." 

"  There,  now  what  do  you  say,"  said  the  gentleman, 
turning  to  me,  "about  the  discontent  of  the  slaves  ?" 

"  I  think  John  has  deceived  you,  sir,"  I  replied. 

"How  so?" 

"  Has  he  satisfied  you  that  lie  is  contented  and  happy  ?  " 

"Most  certainly.     I  have  no  doubt  he  is  so." 

"In  this  you  are  entirely  mistaken,  sir,  and  John 
sees  it,  but  he  dare  not  undeceive  you.  I  secured  his 
confidence  a  few  days  ago,  and  he  told  me  the  story  of 
iiia  wrongs,  and  afflictions,  and  sufferings. 

"And  now,  John,"  said  I,  "will  you  state  the  facts 
connected  with  your  treatment  on  account  of  your  wife, 
that  my  friend  here,  who  is  also  your  friend,  may  know 
the  truth  in  this  matter  ?  Speak  freely ;  you  shall  not 
be  betrayed." 

John  then  threw  off  the  mask,  and  stated  the  simple 
facts.  The  affecting  story  would  melt  any  heart  except 
that  of  a  slaveholder.  The  Northern  merchant  acknowl 
edged  that  he  he  was  never  before  so  artfully  deceived. 
And  these  false  representations,  which  the  slaves  arc 
compelled  to  make  for  their  own  security,  have  kept 
Northern  men  in  ignorance  of  their  true  condition. 

The  following  incidents  will  show  how  liable  we  are 
to  be  deceived  in  the  cities  of  the  South,  by  having  the 
best  aspects  of  slavery  presented  to  us ;  and  also  what 
duplicity  is  practised  upon  us  by  the  slaveholders  for 
this  purpose. 


32  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

Among  the  boarders  at  the  hotel  where  I  stopped 
were  Mr.  N.  and  his  excellent  Christian  lady.  They  were 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  N.  was  a 
cotton  broker,  a  native  of  that  State,  and  owned  a  plant 
ation  and  slaves  in  the  country.  He  was  a  warm  friend 
of  the  temperance  cause,  in  which  I  had  expressed  a  deep 
interest  publicly  in  that  city.  "While  making  a  call  at 
his  private  room,  where  I  found  him  and  his  lady  alone, 
after  conversing  upon  the  subject  of  temperance  awhile, 
Mr.  N.  asked  me  if  I  was  an  abolitionist.  He  said  that 
he  had  been  so  informed  by  one  of  my  Northern  friends. 

I  replied  that  he  had  been  correctly  informed. 

"  Are  you  a  Garrisonite  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  answered,  that  I  was  not. 

"You  are  a  political  abolitionist,  then,  I  presume?" 

"Yes,  sir, you  are  right;  I  am  a  political  abolitionist, 
and  I  profess  to  be  a  moral  and  religious  abolitionist, 
also." 

"  Well,  now,  let  me  say  to  you,"  said  Mr.  N.,  « that  I 
have  been  North,  during  the  summer,  for  several  years, 
visiting  the  cities,  and  Springs,  and  Falls,  where  I  have 
read  your  anti-slavery  papers,  —  not  only  those  of  the 
Garrison  school,  but  Bailey's,  and  Leavitt's,  and  others, 
—  and  let  me  tell  you,  sir,  that,  if  you  have  taken  your 
views  of  slavery  from  -those  papers,  you  have  formed 
erroneous  opinions  of  the  institution.  You  will  find 
Ihe  slaves  in  a  much  better  condition  than  that  which  is 
described  in  those  fanatical  papers.  Most  of  the  writers 
in  those  papers  have  never  traveled  in  the  South,  to  see 
for  themselves  how  well  the  slaves  fare.  Now  if  yon 
examine  closely,  you  will  see  that  the  slaves  are  well 


ARE   THE    SLAVES    CONTENTED f  33 

cared  for,  in  every  respect.  You  will  not  find  the  cru 
elty  and  the  suffering  you  have  expected  to  see." 

"  I  have  no  doubt,  sir/'  he  added,  positively,  "  that  you 
will  have  your  views  of  slavery  essentially  modified, 
and  return  to  the  North  with  your  opinions  in  relation 
to  this  whole  subject  entirely  changed." 

This  was  said  with  so  much  apparent  sincerity,  and  I 
had  reposed  so  much  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  Mr. 
N.7  that  he  actually  inspired  me  with  the  hope,  at  least, 
that  I  should  find  the  slaves  in  a  better  state  than  I  had 
anticipated. 

This  interview  was  had  previous  to  my  traveling  in 
the  country;  but  subsequent  disclosures  of  the  suffer 
ings  and  privations  of  the  slaves  at  thai  public  house, 
led  me  to  suspect  that  Mr.  N.  intended  to  deceive  me. 
And  especially  after  I  had  traveled  among  the  "  Crack 
ers,"  and  had  been  permitted  to  lift  the  veil  and  take 
an  inside  view  of  the  system,  in  all  its  forms,  I  knew 
that  he  intended  to  misrepresent  the  case,  and  make 
a  false  impression  upon  my  mind. 

On  my  return  to  that  city,  just  before  I  left  the  South, 
I  called  on  Mr.  N.  again,  and  found  him  and  his  excellent 
lady  alone,  as  before.  I  was  greeted  very  cordially. 
During  this  conversation,  I  remarked  to  Mr.  X.  that  I 
had  taken  the  liberty  to  call  to  ask  him  a  simple,  straight 
forward  question,  to  which  I  wanted  him  to  give  me  an 
honest,  explicit,  Christian  answer. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  sir,  you  wish  to  know?"  inquired 
Mr.  N.,  with  evident  surprise,  and  a  little  embarrassment. 

"It  is  this,   sir"  I  replied.     "Will  you  inform  me 


34  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

why  you  stated  to  me,  wlien  I  first  came  to  tins  city,  that 
the  slaves  were  well  treated,  that  the  anti-slavery  papers 
of  the  North  had  belied  the  slaveholders,  and  that  I 
should  find  good  reasons,  by  a  careful  examination  of 
the  system,  for  changing  my  abolition  views  ?  " 

"  To  tell  you  the  plain  truth,"  said  Mr.  N.,  with  a 
blush  and  a  laugh  mingled  in  the  expression,  "  I  did  not 
know  then  that  you  were  intending  to  go  out  into  the 
country ! " 

"  I  told  Mr.  N.,  after  you  left  us  at  that  time,  sir," 
said  Mrs.  N.,  quickly,  "  that  he  had  deceived  you ;  and 
the  only  apology  he  made  for  it  was,  that  slavery  would 
never  be  abolished,  that  you  could  do  nothing  to  make 
the  condition  of  the  slave  better,  and  that  you  might  as 
well  be  sent  home  to  the  North  with  your  heart  and 
mind  put  to  rest  on  that  matter,  as  to  have  you  trouble 
yourself  any  farther  about  it." 

Mr.  N.  did  not  deny  that  his  good  lady  had  given  me  tho 
true  explanation  of  his  equivocal  conduct  and  language. 

By  arts  like  these  has  many  a  Northern  man  been 
sent  home  to  peddle  South-side  notions  in  Yankeedom. 
Slavery  is  a  shrewd,  practiced,  and  cunning  dissembler. 

Like  Milton's  Comus, 

"  it  hurls 

Its  dazzling  spells  into  the  spungy  air, 
Of  power  to  cheat  the  eye  with  blear  illusion, 
And  give  it  false  presentments  ; 
And,  under  fair  pretence  of  friendly  ends, 
And  well  placed  words  of  glozing  courtesy, 
Baited  with  reasons  not  implausible, 
Winds  itself  into  easy-hearted  men, 
And  hugs  them  in  its  snares." 


ARE  THE   SLAVES    CONTENTED?  35 

A  wealthy  planter,  from  the  interior  of  the  State,  was 
introduced  to  me,  in  the  city  of  S.,  before  I  traveled  in 
the  interior,  for  the  purpose,  as  I  afterwards  ascertained, 
of  deceiving  me  with  reference  to  the  treatment  of  slaves 
in  his  neighborhood. 

I  had  been  previously  assured,  by  a  friend,  that  this 
gentleman  enjoyed  a  reputation  entirely  above  suspicion 
for  honor  and  integrity,  and  I  could  therefore  place  the 
fullest  confidence  in  his  statements.  His  manner  of 
conversation  aided  to  confirm  a  favorable  impression  of 
his  reliability. 

During  our  interview,  several  topics  relating  to  slavery 
were  discussed,  and,  among  others,  the  feeding  of  slaves. 

I  inquired  how  the  slaves  were  fed  in  his  part  of  the 
State. 

He  replied,  "that  formerly  they  were  not  so  well  fed 
as  at  that  time.  The  planters,"  he  said,  "have  found  it 
more  profitable  to  treat  the  slaves  kindly  and  feed  them 
well,  as  they  would  perform  more  labor,  and  take  a 
deeper  interest  in  the  master's  welfare.  Therefore  they 
have  adopted  a  system  of  high  feeding." 

"Do  you  give  your  slaves  as  much  meat  as  they  want, 
Colonel  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"Meat!  "  said  he,  with  a  laugh;  "I  feed  my  hands  on 
the  best,  most  costly,  and  nutritious  articles  which  the 
market  affords,  such  as  eggs,  poultry,  fresh  meats,  butter, 
&c.j  and  just  as  much  as  they  are  disposed  to  eat." 

"  Indeed !  And  do  your  neighbors  feed  in  the  same 
manner  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  most  of  my  neighbors  feed  in  the  same 


36  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

way ;  and  I  can  assure  you  it  is  altogether  the  best  way. 
Provisions  are  generally  cheap  in  this  State,  and  hands 
that  are  well  fed  have  better  health,  and  do  more  work ; 
and  we  find  it  to  be  the  most  profitable  way,  after  all, 
to  feed  well." 

I  was  really  surprised  at  this  ;  and  yet  it  was  all  true. 
But  still  it  left  a  false  impression  on  my  mind,  which  I 
should  probably  have  brought  home  with  me,  had  I  not 
afterwards  visited  the  place  where  Colonel  H.  resides, 
and  learned  "  the  other  side  of  the  story."  The  "sunny 
side"  gave  me  only  half  the  truth.  When  the  other 
half  from  the  "  shady  side  "  was  brought  to  the  light,  and 
the  two  halves  were  joined  together,  the  whole  truth 
gave  the  fullest  evidence  that  the  slaves  in  that  neigh 
borhood  suffered  more  by  severe  treatment  from  exact 
ing,  rigorous  masters,  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
State. 

Let  us  walk  in  and  see  the  slaves  of  the  "reliable" 
Col.  H.  Let  us  go  into  the  huts,  and  out  upon  the 
plantations,  and  see  with  our  eyes  a  well  fed,  "  kindly 
treated"  family  of  slaves. 

"Whose  field  is  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek  ?  " 
said  a  Northern  gentleman,  who  was  traveling  with  me, 
to  a  neighbor  of  Col.  H. 

"  That  is  a  plantation  of  negroes  the  Colonel  hires 
this  year,  I  believe,"  replied  the  "  Cracker." 

"Will  there  be  any  harm  in  our  going  over  there  to 
see  the  boys  work?" 

"I  reckon  you  had  better  go  and  see  the  Colonel 
first"  answered  his  neighbor,  "for  he  is  mighty  particu- 


ARE   THE   SLAVES   CONTENTED?  37 

lar  about  allowing  strangers  around  among  his  people." 

"  Will  you  be  so  kind,  sir,  as  to  direct  us  to  the 
Colonel's  house  ?"  said  I. 

"  There  comes  his  old  boy,  k'  Monday/  now.  He  will 
show  you  up  there,  sir." 

"  Thank  you,  sir." 

"  Ho,  Monday !  This  way !  We  want  you  to  go  and 
show  us  the  way  to  your  master's  house." 

<•  Well,  I  can't  go  now,  master.  I  must  go  down  to  the 
store  first,  and  get  a  gun  for  young  master  William. 
lie  is  up  at  the  school  house  you  sec  there  by  the  great 
tree,  and  he  will  tell  you  where  the  folks  live.'' 

We  passed  on  to  the  log  school  house,  where,  much 
to  our  joy,  we  found  a  Yankee  shool  teacher  —  an  old 
acquaintance. 

The  school  was  left  to  take  care  of  itself  awhile.  I 
made  inquiries  respecting  Col.  H.  and  his  slaves,  re 
peated  the  statements  he  made  to  me,  and  expressed  my 
great  surprise  to  learn  that  slaves  were  fed  in  the  man 
ner  stated  by  him. 

"  Ah  !  there  is  another  side  to  that  story  !  "  exclaimed 
the  teacher.  "That  gentleman  bet  five  thousund  dol 
lars  last  year  that  he  could  raise  more  cotton  with  his 
hands  than  a  neighbor  could  with  the  same  number." 

The  truth  now  flashed  upon  me.  I  could  see  a  motive 
now  for  feeding  high.  The  slaves  were  to  be  driven 
hard.  The  man  who  raised  the  largest  amount  of  cot 
ton  would  gain  the  five  thousand  dollars,  in  addition  to 
the  product  of  the  field. 

"  Costly  and  nutritious  food  was  supplied  to  those 
4 


38  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

slaves,"  said  the  teacher  of  that  school,  "  and  the  cotton- 
planter's  whip  was  as  freely  applied  to  them." 

The  Colonel's  plantation  was  close  by  that  school 
room. 

"The  driver,"  said  he,  "went  behind  the  gang  of 
slaves,  constantly  cracking  his  whip,  from  morning  till 
night.  The  boy  or  girl  that  fell  in  the  rear  received  the 
lash,  just  like  the  poor,  feeble  lamb  that  falls  behind  in 
the  drove.  And  I  was  informed,"  he  added,  in  a  tone 
expressing  great  grief  and  sympathy,  "that  eighteen 
slaves  belonging  to  that  man  perished  in  the  fields  and 
huts  last  summer,  from  being  over  driven.  But  Col.  II. 
raised  more  cotton  than  the  neighbor  with  whom  he  laid 
the  wager." 

"  How  much  cotton  did  he  raise  ?  "  I  asked, 

"About  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth,  I  have  heard," 
said  the  teacher. 

"  With  how  many  hands  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  Four  hundred,  I  believe." 

The  amount  of  cotton  raised  probably  exceeded,  by 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  value,  the 
usual  crop  obtained  under  the  ordinary  mode  of  feeding 
and  driving.  In  both  respects  the  case  was  an  excep 
tion,  proving  nothing  but  the  fact  that,  whether  well  or 
ill  fed,  kindly  or  cruelly  treated,  the  slave  is  completely 
in  the  power  of  his  master,  with  no  source  of  protec 
tion,  no  power  of  resistance,  no  hope  of  redress. 

No  one  can  travel  in  the  South  without  seeing  that 
the  system  of  slavery  has  no  "  abuses,"  —  that  what  he 
has  been  accustomed  to  regard  as  such  are  only  the 


ARE  THE  SLAVES  CONTENTED?         39 

legitimate  fruits,  or  rather  the  constituent  elements  of 
the  system  itself.  All  the  cruelties  and  the  tortures,  — 
so  far  as  required  to  enforce  submission;  —  the  sundering 
of  families,  the  degradation,  and  the  wholesale  concu 
binage,  are  inseparable  from  the  system.  If  the  system 
is  right,  it  is  right  that  any  "privilege  and  appurte 
nance  "  required  to  perpetuate  it  should  be  included  in 
the  deed.  If  it  is  right  to  hold  a  man  in  bondage,  it 
is  right  to  take  his  wife  from  him,  sell  his  children, 
keep  him  ignorant  of  the  word  of  God,  chain  him,  whip 
him,  take  his  life,  if  he  refuses  to  yield.  Deny  any  of 
thc.se,  and  you  leave  no  security  for  a  permanent  posses 
sion  of  the  man. 

The  feelings  of  our  common  nature  rise  in  rebellion 
against  such  a  system.  In  the  words  of  one  of  England's 
most  gifted  orators,  "Be  the  appeal  made  to  the  under 
standing  or  the  heart,  the  sentence  is  the  same  that 
rejects  it.  There  is  a  law  above  all  the  enactments  of 
human  codes,  —  the  same  throughout  the  world,  —  the 
same  in  all  times,  —  and  by  that  law,  unchangeable  and 
eternal,  while  men  despise  fraud,  and  loath  rapine,  and 
abhor  blood,  they  will  reject,  with  indignation,  the  wild 
and  guilty  phantasy,  that  man  can  hold  property  in 
man!  " 


IV. 

CHRISTMAS  IN  SAVANNAH. 


"They  \vere  red-hot  with  drinking; 

So  full  of  valor  thnt  they  smote  the  air 

For  breathing  in  their  faces  j  beat  the  ground 

For  kissing  of  their  feet."  SHAKESPEARE. 

MR.  J.  was  landlord  of  the  "Marshall  House/'  in  the 
city  of  S.  He  had  a  beautiful  negro  boy  named  John ; 
sometimes  called  "  Little  John/' to  distinguish  him  from 
an  older  slave  boy  of  the  same  name,  belonging  to  Mr.  J. 

I  have  said  little  John  was  a  beautiful  boy,  and  so 
said  all  the  boarders,  even  the  lady  boarders  from  the 
North.  From  this  fact,  some  of  my  Northern  readers 
will  infer  that  Johnny  was  a  white  boy.  They  entertain 
so  deep  a  prejudice  against  the  African  that  they  cannot 
associate  an  idea  of  the  beautiful  with  a  black  complex 
ion.  But  Johnny  was  a  "  real  black"  boy.  His  form 
was  elegant,  his  head  as  "  pretty  shaped"  as  any  white 
boy's  head  —  a  good  forehead,  and  very  thin  lips,  for  a 
negro.  But  his  courteous  manners,  mild  disposition, 
good  conduct,  and  kind  heart,  made  him  more  beautiful. 

Besides,  little  Johnny  had  excellent  common  sense, 
and  talked  with  such  propriety,  and  his  voice  was  so 


CHRISTMAS   IN   SAVANNAH.  41 

musical,  and  soft,  and  persuasive,  and  captivating  that 
everybody  was  charmed  with  everything  he  said,  and 
delighted  with  everything  he  did. 

Mr.  L.,  a  Yankee  boarder,  had  been  negotiating  witli 
Mr.  J.7  for  a  lease  of  the  House ;  and  so  nearly  was  the 
bargain,  completed,  the  report  ran  through  the  house 
that  the  proprietor's  keys  were  to  be  put  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  L.  the  next  morning. 

All  the  slaves  expect  Christmas  presents  from  friends 
and  boarders,  and  all  "to  whom  they  yield  themselves 
servants  to  obey,"  during  Christmas  week. 

Johnny  had  received  many  presents  both  from  Mr.  L. 
and  his  amiable  lady,  who  had  often  spoken  to  him  with 
words  of  more  kindness  and  sympathy  than  slaves  are 
wont  to  hear  addressed  to  them  by  the  whites.  Encour 
aged  by  these  expressions  of  interest  in  his  welfare, 
which  he  had  fondly  treasured  in  his  warm,  confiding 
heart,  lie  ran  up  to  Mr.  L.  on  the  last  day  of  Christmas, 
—  for  Christmas  lasts  till  January  —  and  said,  "Mr.  L., 
I  want  you  to  give  me  a  dollar !" 

"  A  dollar  !  Johnny  ?"  replied  Mr.  L.,  « that  is  a  great 
Christmas  present.  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  a 
dollar  ?" 

Emboldened  by  the  recollection  of  the  former  kind 
words  and  deeds  of  Mr.  L.,  and  inspired  by  his  own 
trusting  nature,  he  answered  with  deep  emotion : 

c:  I  am  going  to  keep  it,  Mr.  L." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  keep  it  for,  Johnny  ?"  asked 
Mr.  L.,  smiling. 

"  I  do'nt  like  to  tell  you,  Mr.  L.,"  was  the  almost  sup 
pressed  reply. 


42  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

"  Don't  like  to  tell  mc;  Johnny  ?  Why  not  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  L.  again. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  tell  Master  J.,"  whispered  John 
ny,  as  there  were  other  gentlemen  present. 

"If  I  give  you  a  dollar,  Johnny/'  added  Mr.  L.,  "your 
master  will  get  it  away  from  you." 

"  No  he  wont ! "  said  Johnny  earnestly.  "  I  tell  you 
I  am  going  to  keep  it,  Mr.  L." 

"  Well  now,  Johnny,"  said  Mr.  L.,  "  if  you  will  tell  me 
the  object  for  which  you  want  to  keep  it,  and  can  satisfy 
me  that  it  will  ever  do  you  any  good,  I  will  certainly 
give  you  a  dollar." 

"Now, then, I  will  tell  you,  Mr.  L.,"  said  Johnny, feel 
ing  re-assured,  "  and  I  know  you  wont  tell  Master  John 
son.  I  am  going  to  keep  all  the  money  I  can  get,  so 
when  I  get  enough,  I  can  buy  my  FREEDOM  !  !  " 

The  last  word,  "freedom,"  was  spoken  aloud,  and  ex 
hibited  so  much  of  the  spirit  and  genius  of  Liberty —  such 
a  deep,  innate,  impassioned  desire  to  be  free,  that  Mr. 
L.  could  withhold  the  dollar  no  longer.  And  that  was 
not  the  only  dollar  added  to  little  Johnny's  consecra 
ted  treasure,  by  which  he  fondly,  but  vainly,  hoped  at 
some  future  day  to  purchase  the  restoration  of  his  "  in 
alienable  rights." 

It  was  rumored  that  Mr.  J.  had  great  liabilities  at  the 
return  of  Christmas,  but  not  so  great  as  John's.  Both 
were  liable  to  be  intoxicated,  but  the  poor  boy  had  the 
additional  liability  to  pay  for  it  in  a  whipping.  And  so 
it  proved  this  time,  to  his  sorrow. 

His  young  mistress,  Miss  C.,  had  a  new,  rich  silk  dress. 


CHRISTMAS   IN   SAVANNAH.  43 

Unfortunate  little  Johnny,  staggering  as  he  went  by  Miss 
C.,  spilled  some  burning  fluid  on  the  large,  elegant  cape 
of  her  splendid  dress,  which  entirely  ruined  the  beauty 
of  that  costly,  dazzling  drapery. 

Mr.  J.  was  informed  by  his  amiable  lady  the  next 
morning,  that  John  had  spoiled  their  daughter's  new 
dress  by  his  carelessness.  The  master,  greatly  enraged 
at  this  communication  from  the  mistress,  vociferously 
uttered  in  tones  of  bitter  complaint  towards  the  boy, 
started  to  run  down  the  narrow  walk  to  the  kitchen,  and 
met  John  coming  up  the  walk  to  the  dining  room.  He 
caught  the  boy  by  the  throat,  exclaiming,  u  Xow  you 
scoundrel,  I  '11  pay  you  for  spoiling  C.'s  dress  !"  And 
lie  threw  him  on  the  floor,  jumped  on  him  with  his  hard 
heeled  winter  boots,  and  stamped  on  his  breast  and  face, 
mangling  him  in  a  most  shocking  manner!  After  ho 
stepped  off,  the  slave  did  not  move !  He  seemed  not  to 
breathe,  and  Mr.  J.  ran  into  Mr.  L.'s  room,  near  b}-,  who 
was  expected  to  take  possession  of  the  house  in  a  few 
days,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  wish  you  would  come  out,  Mr. 
L. !  I  believe  I  have  killed  John  !" 

-Killed  John!     How?"  said  Mr.  L. 

"  I  only  chastised  him  a  little  for  getting  drunk,  and 
spoiling  C.'s  dress." 

Mr.  L.  ran  roto  the  walk.  John  had  begun  to  breathe 
again  ;  other  signs  of  returning  life  soon  followed  ;  ser 
vants  were  called,  and  the  helpless  boy  was  carried  oif 
into  some  dark  apartment,  where  he  was  not  seen  airain 
by  the  boarders  for  three  weeks.  When  he  returned  to 
his  services  as  waiter  at  the  table,  more  than  half  his 


44  TNSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

face  was  still  covered  with  the  bruises.  The  broken 
hearted,  broken-spirited  Johnny  was  never  so  blithsome 
and  sprightly,  and  genial-hearted,  and  happy,  after  his 
"joyous,  jolly  Christmas  "  was  succeeded  by  that  terrible 
stamping,  which  well-nigh  terminated  his  life ;  and  all 
the  fond  dreams  he  had  cherished  of  his  future  freedom 
had  vanished,  for  his  money  was  NOT  TO  BE  FOUND  ! 

A  mulatto  boy  named  "Joe/'  about  this  time  ran 
away  into  the  woods.  The  steward,  a  hot-blooded,  iron- 
hearted  Spaniard,  who  was  constantly  whipping  some  of 
the  servants,  had  threatened  to  whip  Joe,  for  some  mis 
demeanor  on  one  of  the  Christmas  days ;  and  to  avoid 
the  whipping,  which  he  dreaded  as  much  as  death,  he  ran 
off.  He  was  a  young  boy,  not  over  twelve  years  of  a<re, 
and  had  no  idea  of  running  away  in  search  of  freedom, 
or  another  home  j  but  he  ran  out  into  the  woods,  near 
the  city,  having  no  thought  in  his  plan  but  to  escape  the 
whipping, — not  even  deciding  in  his  own  mind  how  long 
he  should  remain  in  the  woods,  or  whether  he  should 
ever  return  to  his  master's  house.  He  staid  in  the 
woods  five  days,  until  he  was  almost  famished  with  hun 
ger.  He  then  decided  to  return  to  the  house  in  the  even 
ing,  and  gain  access  to  the  room  of  his  mistress  secretly, 
and  appeal  to  her  for  protection  from  the  brutal  stew 
ard.  He  succeeded  in  gaining  the  ear,  but  not  the  sym 
pathy  of  his  mistress.  She  immediately  reported  the 
return  of  the  runaway  to  the  steward,  who  settled  with 
the  poor;  emaciated,  suffering  boy,  for  his  Christmas  sins, 

"  With  stripes,  that  mercy  weeps 
To  see  inflicted  on  a  beast." 


CHRISTMAS    IN    SAVANNAH.  45 

Mr.  J.  and  his  wife  were  "  Crackers.'7  They  owned  a 
plantation  in  the  country,  where  they  had  always  lived 
until  within  a  year  or  two,  —  and  there  is  no  sympathy  for 
l-  niggers"  in  the  country.  Conversation  turned,  one 
evening,  upon  the  subject  of  catching  runaways,  and  a 
lady  from  Maine  remarked  that  she  had  ••'  heard  of  their 
setting  dogs  on  the  tracks  of  the  slaves  when  they  ran 
away,  and  that  the  dogs  often  Lit  them,  but  she  never 
believed  it." 

"  Well,  you  had  better  believe  it,  Mrs.  L.,"  said  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  J.,  ii  for  father  used  to  keep  twenty-five 
hounds,  to  catch  niggers  with.  I  have  seen  the  runaway 
niggers  brought  in,  with  large  junks  bitten  out  of  their 
arms  and  legs,  big  enough  to  fry." 

This  was  spoken  with  apparently  as  little  pity  for  the 
slave,  as  she  would  feel  for  the  dead  hog,  when  speaking 
of  cutting  up  legs  of  bacon. 

Joe's  running  away  was  not  the  only  calamity  of  the 
kind  that  visited  Mr.  J.'s  family  during  the  holidays. 
One  of  his  sons  ran  away  with  another  fellow,  like  him 
self,  already  a  drunkard.  They  were  thoughtful  enough 
to  take  bottles  of  whiskey  with  them,  but  took  little 
money  in  their  sacks.  Johnson's  son  had  suffered  so 
much  at  home,  that  lie  declared  to  his  comrade  he  would 
shoot  his  father  if  lie  overtook  them  and  attempted  to 
take  them  back.  The  father,  after  pursuing  them  sev 
eral  days,  found  them  down  in  Liberty  county. 

When  the  profligate  son  saw  his  father  drawing  nigh, 
on  horseback,  he  drew  his  pistol  to  shoot  him;  but  the 
father  took  out  a  bottle  of  whiskey  from  his  portman- 


46  INSIDE  VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

tcau,  and  brandished  that  in  sight  of  the  thirsty,  whis 
key-loving  son,  —  whose  empty  bottles  admonished  him 
of  his  folly  in  leaving  a  father's  house,  where  there  was 
whiskey  enough  and  to  spare,  — and  the  heart  of  the  tru 
ant  relented.  With  humble  confession  for  his  deep  in 
gratitude,  the  father  received  him  with  great  joy  and 
mirth. 

Many  a  time,  after  most  of  the  boarders  had  retired  at 
night,  reports  of  pistols  were  heard  in  adjoining  rooms. 
Sudden  calls  for  the  doctor  to  attend  cases  of  delirium 
trcmcns,  in  the  house,  were  numerous  during  Christmas. 
The  Georgia  physicians  say  that  the  enervating  Southern 
climate  induces  this  disease,  as  the  Northern  rigorous 
climate  docs  consumption.  But  if  the  climate  is  the  only 
exciting  cause  of  delirium  trem ens,  in  Georgia,  it  is  more 
to  be  avoided  through  fear  of  premature  death,  than  the 
tendencies  to  consumption  in  Maine  ;  for  more  adult,  free, 
male  inhabitants  of  that  State,  die  annually  of  delirium 
treniens,  than  die  in  Maine  of  consumption. 

A  Christian  lady  of  Maine,  who  had  read  and  heard 
accounts  of  the  destructive  influence  of  the  habits  of 
dissipation  upon  young  men  in  the  South,  became  alarmed 
for  the  safety  of  her  son,  who  was  employed  as  a  clerk, 
in  Macon,  Georgia,  and  she  sent  her  request  for  him  to 
return  home. 

While  at  Macon,  Mr.  L.  formed  an  intimate  acquaint 
ance  with  twelve  young  men  —  clerks  in  that  city  —  sev 
en  of  whom  were  from  the  North.  At  this  request  of 
his  mother, 

"  whose  pious  care 
Shielded  his  infant  innocence  with  prayer," 


CHRISTMAS   IN  SAVANNAH.  47 

Mr.  L.  came  back  to  the  North.  I  was  with  him,  ten 
years  afterwards,  when  lie  visited  Macon  again,  and  in» 
quired  for  one  after  another  of  his  old  comrades. 

"  Where  is  George  ?  " 

"  Dead  ! "  replied  an  old  friend. 

"  Where  is  Ben  ?  " 

"  Dead ! " 

"  Where  is  Frank  ?  " 

"Dead!" 

"  What  was  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Delirium  trcmens  !  " 

And,  to  be  brief,  ten  of  those  young  men  had  gone  in- 
to  drunkards'  graves  by  delirium  tremens, —  one  was  an 
idiot, —  and  the  last  insane.  There  was  not  a  man 
among  the  twelve  with  whom  he  could  shake  hands  and 
be  recognized  as  a  friend,  when  only  ten  years  previous, 
they  were  all  enterprising  young  men,  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-two  years  of  age.  Mr.  L.  confessed  that  he  formed 
a  very  favorable  opinion  of  slavery  the  first  year  he  spent 
in  Macon,  but  he  was  now  brought  to  a  position  where  ho 
could  see  one  of  its  most  terrible  results,  and  he  instantly 
turned  his  thoughts  gratefully  towards  his  mother,  whose 
prayers  and  fidelity  had  saved  him.  "Had  not  my 
mother  be  en  faithful,"  he  said  to  me,  "  doubtless  I  should 
have  shared  the  same  sad  fate  that  has  cut  down  my  un 
fortunate  friends ! " 

Mr.  L.  is  now  an  active  business  man  in  New  England, 
whose  credibility  no  one  will  question. 

But  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that  the  Maine  Law, 
well  executed  in  the  slave  States,  would  subdue  the  prc- 


48  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

disposing  causes  to  delirium  tremens, —  while  the  habits 
of  the  South,  if  introduced  into  Xew  England,  would 
not  diminish  the  tables  of  mortality  by  consumption. 

While  I  was  sitting  on  the  stone  sidewalk  in  front  of 
the  Marshall  House,  conversing  with  Mr.  Johnson,  one 
of  the  Christinas  evenings,  three,  heavy,  cut-glass  tum 
blers  were  thrown  from  a  window  of  a  room  in  the  third 
story,  and  came  down  upon  the  sidewalk  near  our  seats, 
with  a  startling  crash.  Anon,  plates,  and  knives  and 
forks,  and  small  articles  of  furniture  were  thrown  out 
further  into  the  street.  One  large  platter  was  thrown 
out  into  the  middle  of  the  street,  by  one  of  the  Kcn- 
tuckians  who  occupied  that  chamber.  The  platter  fell 
in  the  "  horse-bed,"  directly  before  a  horse  and  buggy, 
passing  at  that  instant.  The  horse  stepped  into  the 
platter,  breaking  it  in  many  pieces,  and,  taking  fright  at 
the  noise,  he  ran  away  with  the  gentlemen  in  the  car 
riage. 

The  young  Kentuckians,  sons  of  slaveholders,  came 
down  to  S...  with  a  drove  of  horses  and  mules  which 
their  fathers  gave  them  for  a  Christmas  present,  and, 
having  sold  them,  they  were  spending  the  effects  of  the 
sale  to  suit  their  taste.  Mr.  J.  uttered  a  round  oath 
against  the  rowdies,  and  then  started  to  go  to  the  cham 
ber  to  ascertain  what  they  were  doing.  It  was  very  con 
venient  for  me  to  be  passing  up  to  my  room  at  the  time 
Mr.  J.  rapped  at  the  door  of  the  Kentuckians'  room,  on 
the  same  floor. 

"  Who  's  there  ?"  halloed  one  of  the  b'hoys. 

"  Johns on;"  replied  the  host. 


CHRISTMAS   IN   SAVANNAH.  49 

«  What  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  come  in  here." 

"  You  sha'nt  come  in;  sir." 

"  Yes  I  will  come  in,"  replied  Mr.  J. 

"  If  you  come  in  here,  we  will  shoot  you." 

"  Very  well,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  gruffly,  and  left 
the  room  to  its  fate,  at  the  mercy  of  a  Christmas  revel. 

The  next  morning,  I  happened  to  be  at  the  office  when 
the  Kentuckians  settled  their  bill.  One  of  them  asked, 

«  Well,  Mr.  J.,  what  is  the  bill  ?  " 

"  I  have  looked  at  the  bill  of  furniture  I  put  into  that 
room,"  said  Mr.  J.,  "  and  I  find  it  amounted  to  just  sev 
enty  dollars.  I  suppose  you  have  smashed  it  all  up." 

"  Very  like,"  replied  the  Kentuckian ;  and  he  added, 
« I  am  sure  that  what  is  left  is  of  no  account,  sir  1 "  • 

The  seventy  dollars  in  addition  to  the  regular  fare, 
were  paid,  and  the  party  left. 

The  following  day,  in  conversation  with  Mrs.  C.,  wife 
of  a  hardware  merchant  of  that  city,  I  was  expressing 
my  astonishment  that  those  young  men  would  spend  so 
large  a  sum  of  money  for  such  a  foolish  gratification. 
That  excellent  lady,  who  was  a  native  of  Savannah,  re 
marked  that  that  was  a  small  amount,  compared  with 
what  is  frequently  paid  for  such  "  busts  "  by  young  men 
at  the  South,  whose  fathers  are  wealthy ;  and  then  sho 
related  the  following  facts : 

There  was  a  young  man  who  came  to  this  city,  and 
received  several  thousand  dollars  at  a  bank,  for  cotton 
his  father  had  sent  to  this  market.  He  was  a  fast  young 
man,  and  he  concluded  to  have  a  frolic  before  he  left  the 

5 


60  INSIDE  VIEW   OF  SLAVERY. 

city  for  his  home  in  the  back  part  of  the  State.  So  ho 
bought  a  little  box  gig,  and  took  it  to  the  smith  and  or 
dered  the  axletree  cut  off  at  each  end,  to  bring  tho 
wheels  close  up  to  the  body  of  the  carriage,  making  it 
so  narrow  that  it  would  ply  along  the  narrow  sidewalks 
in  that  city.  He  then  hired  the  fleetest  horse  and  had 
him  harnessed  into  the  gig  on  Sabbath  morning;  and 
after  the  church  bells  had  called  the  people  out  upon  the 
walks,  the  reckless  youth  sprang  into  his  gig,  and  drove 
around  the  city  on  the  sidewalks,  driving  the  women  and 
children  into  the  middle  of  the  streets  of  sand,  scream 
ing  for  their  lives. 

The  police  were  called,  and  they  pursued  the  disturber 
of  the  peace ;  but  they  were  unable  to  catch  him.  Com 
ing  around  in  front  of  the  Pulaski  House  —  the  largest 
hotel  in  the  city  —  the  wide  bar-room  doors,  which  open 
directly  into  the  street,  being  open,  he  drove  his  team 
into  that  bar-room,  discharged  a  pistol  towards  the  bar 
keeper,  the  bullet  entering  the  wall  just  above  his  head, 
whirled  his  horse  before  he  could  be  seized  by  the  bridle, 
turned  about  and  dashed  into  the  street  again,  and  drove 
until  the  horse  became  weary,  so  that  the  police  were 
enabled  to  take  him. 

They  carried  him  to  the  Pulaski  House.  Capt.  "W. 
looked  at  the  gentleman,  saw  that  he  was  "  well  dressed," 
and  inferring  that  he  had  a  long  purse,  told  him  that  ho 
must  pay  jfa?e  hundred  dollars. 

"  Cheap  enough ! "  replied  the  rowdy,  complacently. 
a  I  have  had  a  good  frolic  1 " 

The  money  was  paid  over,  and  thus  the  affair  was 


CHRISTMAS   IN   SAVANNAH.  51 

settled,  to  the  "  satisfaction"  of  all  the  church-going  folks 
in  that  Christian  city. 

Few  young  men  who  go  South  from  the  free  States, 
to  engage  in  business,  retain  the  steady  habits  of  their 
Northern  education.  A  friend  of  the  writer,  in  New 
York,  had  a  son  employed  as  clerk  in  a  cotton  store  at 
S.,  with  a  salary  of  a  thousand  dollars.  But  this  sum 
was  insufficient  to  meet  the  expenses  of  that  fashionable 
clerk,  and  he  drew  on  his  father  quite  often  to  pay  up 
arrears  for  board.  The  father  addressed  me  a  note,  re 
questing  that  I  would,  if  possible,  ascertain  the  cause  of 
this  draft  upon  him,  and  desired  me  to  learn  the  habits 
of  his  son,  and  inform  him.  On  the  father's  account,  I 
took  occasion  to  notice  the  conduct  of  his  son  while  at 
the  bar-room,  one  evening  soon  after. 

It  is  customary  at  the  South  among  young  men  of  that 
class,  to  drink  large  quantities  of  wine  or  other  liquors ; 
but  when  reciprocating  a  treat  with  comrades,  they  take 
a  much  less  quantity  at  a  time  than  is  taken  at  the  North. 
Sometimes,  in  the  South,  the  "  convivial "  glass  passes 
several  times  in  an  hour.  "When  the  Southron  intends 
to  have  a  "  soak,"  he  takes  the  bottle  to  his  bed-side, 
goes  to  bed,  and  lies  there  till  he  gets  drunk  and  becomes 
Bober,  and  then  he  gets  up. 

My  young  friend  II.  W.  came  in  from  his  store  that 
night,  stepped  to  the  bar,  and  called  for  spirits.  He 
drank  a  small  quantity,  turned  around,  saw  an  old  ac 
quaintance,  called  for  more.  In  a  few  minutes  after, 
some  other  comrades  came  in.  He  drank  with  them 
and  they  with  him,  by  turns,  and  so  in  the  course  of  one 


52  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

short  hour,  the  young  gentleman  took  eight  social 
drinks ;  but  not  more  than  a  table  spoon-full  at  each  time. 
He  drew  his  purse,  paid  a  dollar  to  the  bar-keeper  for 
the  treat ;  then  ordered  a  bottle  of  wine  to  his  room, 
and  paid  a  half  eagle  for  that.  Six  dollars  a  day  for 
liquor !  Two  THOUSAND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  NINETY  DOL 
LARS  A  YEAR  ! 


V. 

ILLUSIONS  OF  THE  SYSTEM. 


"  "What  man  so  wise,  what  earthly  -wit  so  ware, 

As  to  descry  the  crafty,  cunning  train, 

By  which  deceit  doth  mask  in  visor  fair, 

And  cast  her  colors,  dyed  deep  in  grain, 

To  seem  like  truth,  whose  shape  she  well  can  feign, 

And  fitting  gestures  to  her  purpose  frame, 

The  guileless  man  with  guile  to  entertain ! " 

SPENSER'S  FAERY  QUEEN. 

No  man  can  visit  the  South  for  the  first  time  without 
having  his  views  of  slavery,  whatever  they  may  be,  to 
some  extent  modified.  If  he  is  credulous,  disposed  to 
believe  that  everything  is  really  what  it  seems  to  be, 
that  the  surface  of  society  mirrors  that  which  lies  be 
neath,  as  well  as  that  which  is  above  it,  —  if  he  credits  all 
that  is  told  him,  and  looks  at  slavery  through  the  slave 
holder's  glasses,  he  will  return  home  with  a  south-side 
view,  and  his  acquaintances  in  the  South  will  laugh  at 
his  credulity.  But  if  he  takes  nothing  on  trust,  exam 
ines  everything .  for  himself,  engages  in  business,  and 
gains  the  confidence  of  the  slaves,  so  that  he  can  feel 
their  hearts  beat  and  throb  against  the  great  wrong, 
and  look  at  the  system  with  their  eyes  instead  of  their 
master's,  "  remembering  those  in  bonds  as  bound  with 


54  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

them"  he  will  wonder  at  Ms  own  coldness  hitherto. 
And  from  his  new  position  he  will  understand  some  of 
the  ways  in  which  men  have  been  deceived;  or  have  de 
ceived  themselves  on  this  subject. 

There  is  one  source  of  delusion,  on  this  subject,  of 
which  few  seem  to  be  aware.  It  lies  in  the  power  of  a 
name  to  chill  our  sympathies,  and  pervert  our  moral 
convictions.  The  term  slave  has  a  definite  meaning. 
It  signifies,  not  a  person,  but  a  thing,  a  chattel ;  and  an 
immense  advantage  has  been  secured  to  the  pro-slavery 
side  of  the  argument  from  Scripture,  by  virtually  chang 
ing  our  own  translation  from  servant  to  slave.  Even 
anti-slavery  men  write  and  talk  about  Hebrew  slaves 
instead  of  servants,  and  thus  yield  half  the  force  of  their 
arguments  by  the  use  of  the  term. 

More  than  this,  the  Southern  bondman  is  likely  to 
lose  more  than  half  his  worth,  in  our  estimation,  when  we 
think  and  speak  of  him  as  a  slave,  instead  of  a  man,  op 
pressed  and  in  bondage.  It  is  very  difficult  for  one  to 
resist  this  influence  of  a  name  on  his  own  mind.  When 
we  have  called  a  man  a  slave,  we  shall  probably  find,  if 
we  analyze  our  thoughts,  that  we  have  degraded  him 
below  the  level  of  manhood,  in  our  practical  estimation, 
and  the  wrongs  he  suffers  seem  to  lose  a  great  measure 
of  the  enormity  we  should  attach  to  them  if  inflicted  on 
a  man.  Our  sympathies  are  moved  when  the  slave  is 
starved,  scourged,  tortured  ;  but  it  is  not  so  much  because 
his  manhood  is  degraded  as  because  the  animal  is  suf 
fering. 

Such  being  the  influence  upon  ourselves,  it  is  not 


ILLUSIONS    OF   THE   SYSTEM.  55 

strange  that  those  who  have  been  trained  in  the  midst 
of  the  corrupting  system,  and  taught  to  regard  the  slave 
as  a  mere  chattel,  without  personal  rights,  should  exer 
cise  little  sympathy  for  his  wrongs. 

I  intend  no  disrespect  to  clergymen,  when  I  say  that 
no  class  of  men  have  so  little  knowledge  of  men  and 
things  as  some  of  the  most  learned  theologians,  who 
from  bo}rhood  have  been  shut  up  to  schools  and  books. 
They  have  enjoyed  little  opportunity  to  learn  the  work 
ings  of  human  nature  among  the  mass  of  mankind,  —  they 
are  therefore  poorly  qualified  to  investigate  the  ordinary 
business  of  life,  or  to  look  into  other  men's  matters. 
Their  training  may  have  been  favorable  to  purity  of 
mind  and  manners ;  it  has  removed  them  from  many  of 
the  corrupting  influences  of  society ;  but  for  this  very 
reason  they  are  unqualified  to  examine  the  workings  01 
a  system  whose  influence  pervades  every  interest,  every 
employment,  and  every  thought  of  the  community. 

They  have  visited  the  South,  and  brought  back  their 
reports  of  its  effects  on  the  varied  interests  and  institu 
tions  of  the  country.  They  naturally  make  their  inqui 
ries  of  the  same  class  of  men,  who  themselves  know 
little  of  slaver}7  except'  its  fairer  aspects,  or,  if  they  do 
know,  are  careful  to  hide  its  most  revolting  features ; 
and  they  return  as  ignorant  of  the  workings  and  influence 
of  slavery  as  they  went. 

And  I  also  found  it  to  be  true,  though  with  some  ex 
ceptions,  that  clergymen  in  Southern  cities  are  not  well 
informed  as  to  the  condition  of  the  slave.  The  means  of 
accurate  information  on  this  subject  are  not  enjoyed  in 


56  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

the  South.  It  is  not  freely  discussed  there.  The  wel 
fare  of  the  slave  is  seldom  a  topic  of  conversation.  His 
condition  is  below  the  consideration  of  the  higher  classes. 

A  clergyman,  eminent  for  piety,  talent,  and  learning, 
assured  me  that  he  had  resided  in  one  of  the  most  pop 
ulous  cities  of  the  South  several  years  without  having 
the  opportunity  afforded  him  to  look  into  the  practical 
operation  of  the  system. 

"  And  probably/'  said  he,  "  I  should  have  remained  in 
ignorance  of  the  destructive  effects  of  the  system  to 
this  day,  had  not  a  Northern  minister  of  my  own  denom 
ination  come  down  to  make  me  a  visit.  He  prevailed 
on  me  to  make  a  tour  with  him  through  the  country. 
We  went  out  through  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  Ala 
bama,  over  to  the  Mississippi  Kiver,  and  down  to  New 
Orleans.  Then  we  came  back  in  another  direction, 
through  the  planting  districts,  and  we  saw  that  slavery 
ruined  everything  that  it  touched.  We  were  astonished 
at  every  step  to  witness  its  destructive  influence  on 
everything  valuable.  I  was  most  surprised  at  my  own 
ignorance  of  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
planting  districts.  They  are  miserable  beyond  descrip 
tion." 

"I  am  willing,"  he  added,  "to  make  all  due  allow 
ance  for  the  disabilities  of  the  master,  struggling  against 
adverse  influences ;  but  I  must  confess  to  you,  sir,  that 
I  am  an  abolitionist.  If  slavery  is  not  abolished  soon, 
it  will  ruin  the  whole  country.  The  tendency  of  the 
system  is  to  make  men  idle  and  vicious,  and  consequently 
ignorant  and  degraded." 


ILLUSIONS    OF   THE    SYSTEM.  67 

"Why  really,  sir,"  said  I,  "you  admit  all  the  evils 
we  have  ever  charged  against  the  system.  If  I  should 
talk  about  slavery  after  I  go  home  as  you  do  now,  some 
of  your  Northern  ministerial  brethren  would  say  it  was 
fanatical,  and  an  exaggeration." 

"Exaggeration!"  exclaimed  the  reverend  gentleman, 
"  impossible  !  You  can  not  exaggerate  when  speaking  of 
the  evils  of  slavery !  The  pit  has  not  been  uncovered 
yet.  If  it  ever  is,  and  the  North  are  permitted  to  look 
into  it,  they  will  pronounce  it l  the  bottomless  pit ! ' ; 

"  Good  men  here  in  the  South,"  he  added,  "  know  very 
little  of  the  shocking  cruelties  perpetrated  on  the  de 
fenceless  slaves.  And,  indeed,  but  little  is  known  in 
the  cities  of  the  wretchedness  and  poverty  of  most  of 
the  whites  in  the  country.  No  good  man  can  know  what 
the  system  is  doing  to  us  all,  and  not  detest  it ;  much 
less,  apologize  for  it,  or  connect  himself  with  it." 

And  yet  this  minister  was  not  known  by  his  society 
to  be  an  abolitionist.  He  thought  that  it  would  do  no 
good  to  the  slaves  for  him  to  speak  out  his  real  feelings 
on  this  subject,  and  that  by  doing  so  he  would  lose  all 
his  influence,  and  be  driven  from  his  field  of  labor. 
Hence  he.  only  uttered  his  opinions  where  they  would 
not  be  used  against  him.  There  are  many  like  him  in 
the  South.  It  is  not  my  province  to  judge  them.  They 
weep  in  secret  over  the  sins  of  the  people.  Would  to 
Heaven  that  they  had  the  courage  to  lift  up  their  voices, 
"'cry  aloud  and  spare  not,"  though  compelled  in  conse 
quence  to  shake  off  the  dust  of  their  feet  against  them ! 

It  is  also  true,  as  strange  as  it  may  appear,  that  there 


58  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY, 

are  many  slaveholders  who  know  but  very  little  about 
the  condition  of  the  slaves.  Statesmen,  lawyers,  and 
even  merchants,  who  own  plantations,  spend  very  little 
time  upon  them,  and  know  scarcely  anything  which  occurs 
there,  except  what  is  reported  to  them  by  their  overseers. 

I  had  a  conversation  on  the  subject  of  slavery  wfth  a 
Southern  clergyman,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  John 
C.  Calhoun.  During  the  interview,  I  made  frequent  allu 
sions  to  the  ultra  pro-slavery  doctrines  of  this  great 
statesman,  and  expressed  my  want  of  confidence  in  the 
integrity  of  a  man  who  gave  all  the  influence  of  his  great 
name,  and  employed  all  his  talent,  and  learning,  and 
logic,  to  build  up  such  an  institution,  But  his  clerical 
friend,  who  had  admitted  to  me  his  own  hatred  of  the 
system,  apologized  for  Mr.  Calhoun's  apparent  inconsis 
tency. 

"  Mr.  Calhoun,"  said  he, "  knew  nothing  about  slavery." 

"  Is  it  possible,  sir  ?  "  said  I.  "  I  have  always  inferred, 
from  the  manner  he  wrote  about  it,  that  he  must  be 
perfectly  acquainted  with  the  operations  of  the  system. 
Will  you  do  me  the  favor  to  explain  your  statement, 
—  that  he  knew  nothing  about  it  ?  " 

"I  will,  sir.  Mr.  Calhoun,  it  is  well  known,  was  a 
kind,  benevolent  slaveholder.  He  gave  orders  to  have 
his  slaves  well  fed  and  clothed,  but  he  did  not  conde 
scend  to  visit  his  kitchens  and  slave  huts  to  see  whether 
his  directions  were  obeyed.  He  always  kept  more  serv 
ants,  in  every  department  of  his  family,  than  were  neces 
sary  to  perform  the  labor  required,  so  that  his  house- 
servants  were  not  overworked.  No  slave  of  Mr.  C/s 


ILLUSIONS    OF   THE   SYSTEM 

was  afraid  at  any  time  to  ask  his  master,  in  person,  for 
a  dollar  to  supply  any  want,  nor  had  any  fears  of  being 
turned  away  empty,  if  he  could  convince  him  that  he 
really  needed  the  favor  he  asked.  That  constant  incli 
nation  to  supply  every  known  want  of  his  servants,  and 
the  positive  instructions  invariably  given  to  the  "  mana 
gers  "  of  his  slaves,  constituted  the  whole  of  his  personal 
care  for  them.  Farther  than  that,  the  happiness  of  his 
slaves  was  a  thing  not  included  with  the  bounds  of  his 
thoughts." 

"But,"  I  inquired,  "could  he  not  see  the  instances  of 
cruelty  and  suffering  among  other  slaves,  whom  he  saw 
in  his  daily  walks  ?  " 

"No,  sir,  he  did  not  stop  for  that,  nor  think  of  it. 
The  class  of  slaveholders  to  which  Mr.  C.  belonged,  do 
not  come  down  to  enter  the  walks  in  life  where  the  suf 
ferings  of  the  slaves  can  be  seen.  If  they  hear  one 
writhing  under  the  lash,  they  lend  no  ear  to  his  cry. 
They  presume  that  the  punishment  is  merited.  It  is 
the  conventional  law  of  society,  that  no  white  man  shall 
listen  to  the  story  of  the  slave's  wrongs  from  his  own 
lips." 

"  What  aristocrats  the  slaveholders  are  ! "  I  exclaimed. 

"You  do  not  hit  Mr.  Calhoun  with  that  remark,"  said 
his  friend,  "for  he  was  no  aristocrat,  I  assure  you. 
When  he  employed  a  white  man  in  his  service,  —  a  car 
penter,  for  instance,  about  his  house,  —  that  carpenter 
sat  down  with  Mr.  C.  to  eat  at  his  table,  and  he  con 
versed  with  him  as  an  equal.  In  this  respect  he  set  a 
worthy  example  to  your  Northern  aristocrats.  He  often 


60  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

spoke  of  the  aristocracy  of  Northern  capitalists,  as  man 
ifested  in  their  treatment  of  their  free  white  laborers. 
Mr.  C.  ever  regarded  a  white  man  as  his  equal.  The 
badge  of  a  slave  only,  disentitled  a  man  to  his  compan 
ionship." 

"  When  Mr.  Calhoun  visited  any  of  his  friends/'  the 
gentleman  continued,  "  especially  in  the  country,  he  would 
of  course  send  a  note  some  time  previous,  informing  them 
at  what  time  they  might  expect  to  entertain  himself  and 
family.  Then  when  he  arrived  at  the  house  of  his  friend, 
he  found  everything  put  in  preparation  to  receive  him. 
The  servants  were  all  dressed  finely,  looking  neat  and 
cheerful.  He  gave  them  all  little  presents,  as  is  cus 
tomary  in  such  families,  which  made  the  slaves  appear 
very  happy  and  joyous.  It  was  in  such  circumstances 
that  Mr.  Calhoun  saw  the  slaves  of  the  South. 

"  Then  when  he  went  North,  and  noticed  the  degraded 
condition  of  the  free  colored  man  in  your  cities,  —  often 
having  no  one  to  care  for  him,  nobody  offering  him  profit 
able  employment,  none  aiding  him  to  obtain  knowledge, 
or  assisting  to  elevate  him  in  society,  Mr.  C.  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  slavery  was  the  best  condition  of  the 
African  race.  I  have  no  doubt  he  honestly  believed  that 
the  white  man  was  born  with  a  scepter  in  his  hand,  and 
that  the  black  man  was  created  to  be  his  servant." 

Such  was  the  apology  which  this  gentleman  oifered 
for  the  great  Southern  statesman.  How  much  weight 
it  should  be  allowed  to  have  in  extenuation  of  Mr.  Cal- 
houn's  inveterate  devotion  to  the  slave  system,  it  is  not 
for  me  to  say.  But  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  general  truth 


ILLUSIONS   OF  TIIE  SYSTEM.  61 

before  stated,  that  many  slaveholders  are  ignorant  on 
this  subject.  And  in  judging  of  any  of  them  it  ought 
not  to  be  forgotten  that  persons  living  in  the  midst  of 
slavery  gradually  become  familiar  with  its  attendant 
evils,  and  by  imperceptible  degrees  they  come  to  view 
calmly  exhibitions  of  cruelty  and  suffering  from  which 
they  would  once  have  shrunk  with  horror. 
6 


VI. 

WHY  THE  NORTH  PROSPERS. 


«  Labour  is  life !  —  T  is  the  still  water  faileth ; 

Idleness  ever  despaireth,  bewaileth ; 

Keep  the  watch  wound,  or  the  dark  rust  assaileth ; 

Flowers  droop  and  die  in  the  stillness  of  noon. 

Labour  is  glory !  —  the  flying  cloud  lightens ; 

Only  the  waving  wing  changes  and  brightens ; 

Idle  hearts  only  the  dark  future  frightens ; 

Play  tlie  sweet  keys  would'st  thou  keep  them  in  tune ! " 

FRANCES  S.  OSGOOD. 

IT  is  the  superior  physical  education  of  the  North,  —  the 
practical  knowledge,  and  the  advantages  derived  from 
the  various  kinds  of  labor  to  which  her  whole  people 
are  devoted  —  that  best  qualifies  them  for  the  ordi 
nary  business  of  life.  The  young  man  must  work,  as 
well  as  think,  that  the  muscles  may  mature  while  the 
mind  is  being  developed,  or  he  will  not  succeed  in  any 
profession.  "No  man,"  says  a  learned  physician,  "  ever 
enjoyed  perfect  health  who  was  brought  up  in  idleness." 
The  superior  intellectual  character  of  the  people  of  New 
England  is  to  be  attributed  mainly  to  their  early  hab 
its  of  industry,  which  give  them  athletic  physical  systems 
for  vigorous  minds  to  work  in. 


m 


WHY  THE  NORTH   PROSPERS.  63 

"  As  an  humble  farmer's  son,  upon  the  granite  hills  of 
New  England/'  says  Horace  Greely,  "  I  became  early 
inured  to  constant  toil,  and  learned  not  merely  to  con 
front  labor,  but  to  respect  it,  —  to  recognize  its  stern 
afflictions  as  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  which  Heaven 
sends.  It  is  a  necessary  and  vital  safeguard  against 
falling  into  the  depths  of  depravity  and  misery.  Through 
it  alone  has  our  race,  or  any  part  of  it,  ever  risen  in  the 
scale  of  moral  being.  Moral  degradation  has  always 
first  come  upon  those  who  have  felt  least  heavily  the 
stern  necessity  for  labor.  No  man  ever  lived  and  worked, 
and  was  content  to  live  by  work,  who  was  not  essentially 
honest,  and  did  not  become  every  day  more  manly." 

Carlyle  says,  —  "  The  latest  Gospel  is,  Know  thy  work, 
and  do  it.  Know  what  thou  canst  work  out,  and  work 
it  out  like  Hercules."  "  It  is  not  with  the  sword  but 
with  the  axe  that  man  must  hew  out  his  way  to  great 
ness." 

Though  Fortune  has  been  called  a  fickle  Goddess,  she 
seldom  fails  to  bestow  the  boon  of  success  upon  those 
who,  when  shut  up  to  their  own  resources,  struggle  on 
with  a  determination  and  courage  that  scorn  defeat. 
The  battle  of  life  is  not  a  mere  game  of  chance.  Learn 
ing,  wealth,  and  honor  are  but  the  sequences  of  forces 
as  unfailing  in  their  results  as  the  physical  laws  of  the 
universe.  The  foundation  of  every  man's  fortune  or  mis 
fortune  is  laid  for  him  and  in  him,  long  before  he  leaves 
the  paternal  roof. 

The  Northern  farmer  says  to  his  boys,  on  the  morning 
of  the  first  snow  storm,  "  George !  you  may  go  to  the 


64  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAV  EH  Y. 

barn  and  yoke  the  steers,  take  the  sled,  drive  into  the 
woods,  and  get  a  load  of  wood  before  school-time." 
u  John !  you  can  take  the  horse  and  sleigh  and  go  to  mill, 
and  return  in  season  to  carry  the  children  to  school." 
"  Charlie  will  cut  and  bring  in  some  wood  for  his  mother. 
Now  you  understand,  boys  1  Don't  stop  to  play  until 
your  work  is  done  1" 

The  boys  spring  for  their  hats  —  for  which  each  has 
his  own  peg  —  and  then  rush  to  their  work.  George, 
the  eldest  —  fourteen  —  after  a  severe  struggle  with  the 
steers  in  putting  the  yoke  on  their  necks  for  the  first 
time,  he  gets  the  tongue  of  the  sled  into  the  ring,  and 
starts  for  the  wood.  He  enters  the  woods,  and  cuts 
down  a  tree,  —  but  it  falls  the  wrong  way.  —  He  looks 
for  a  cause,  notices  his  notches,  and  perceives  that  the 
tree  fell  directly  across  the  lower  or  deeper  notch.  He 
attacks  another  tree  —  makes  his  deep  cut  on  the  side 
where  he  wants  it  to  fall.  And  behold  it  falls  in  that 
direction !  Henceforth  he  can  fell  the  tree  in  any  direc 
tion  to  suit  his  convenience.  Valuable  practical  knowl 
edge  has  been  acquired  —  self-taught  —  and  "  experience 
is  the  best  schoolmaster." 

Now  his  sled  must  be  turned,  —  he  must  contrive  to 
load  the  butt  log  —  a  rock  maple  eight  feet  in  length. 
He  cannot  lift  either  end  without  the  lever,  nor  place  it 
on  tlio  sled  without  the  skids.  These  he  invents  and 
makes.  The  boy  succeeds  in  getting  home  a  good  load 
of  wood.  His  muscles  have  acquired  strength,  and  his 
mind  knowledge.  No  obstacles  or  contingencies  will  im 
part  misgivings  to  him  in  his  next  enterprise.  Now  he 


WHY  THE  NORTH   PROSPERS.  65 

goes  to  school,  and  begins  his  task  in  mathematics  and 
philosophy  with  a  will.  As  he  studies,  he  perceives  the 
advantages  which  a  knowledge  of  mechanical  powers 
and  philosophical  principles  will  afford  him  in  his  future 
efforts  to  overcome  obstacles  in  providing  for  life's  ne 
cessities.  By  thus  associating  labor  and  study,  the  body 
and  mind  are  mutually  developed.  In  a  few  years  he 
may  build  a  ship,  or  guide  it  around  the  world.  And  if 
he  should  ever  become  a  merchant,  or  enter  one  of  the 
learned  professions,  his  early  experience  will  not  only 
be  of  daily  and  practical  use  to  him,  but  the  strength  of 
purpose,  the  power  of  persistent  effort,  the  "  backbone" 
it  has  given  him,  will  render  success  in  any  department 
of  life  morally  certain. 

Slaveholders  are  beginning  to  see  that  the  sons  of 
poor  white  men  in  the  South,  who,  by  reverse  of  fortune, 
have  been  compelled  to  earn  their  own  bread  by  the 
sweat  of  the  face,  are  rising  in  the  scale  of  intellect,  and 
power,  and  would  even  now  be  ranked  higher  than  their 
own  sons,  if  personal  merit  were  the  only  basis  of  hon 
orable  distinction.  No  honest,  intelligent  Southerner, 
who  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  intelligence  and 
business  capacity  of  the  different  races  in  the  South,  will 
deny  that  the  African  is  better  qualified  now  to  obtain  a 
livelihood  than  the  white  man  who  rules  over  him,  if 
both  were  left  with  only  natural  resources  and  the  labor 
of  their  own  hands  to  rely  upon. 

The  mulattoes,  especially  —  and  they  constitute  a 
large  proportion  of  the  slave  population,  —  are  the  best 
specimens  of  manhood  to  be  found  in  the  South.  The 


66  INSIDE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY. 

African  mothers  have  given  them  a  good  physical  sys 
tem,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  fathers  a  good  mental  consti 
tution.  They  have  enjoyed  the  important  advantages 
derived  from  the  education  of  various  kinds  of  labor. 
The  contingencies  to  be  met  and  provided  for,  the  diffi 
culties  to  be  overcome  in  their  industrial  pursuits,  have 
made  them  efficient  and  practical  men.  Give  them  the 
entire  possession  and  management  of  either  of  the  Caro- 
linas  —  and  let  the  masters  occupy  the  other  alone, —  and 
the  experiment  would  not  be  prolonged  many  years  be 
fore  it  would  be  settled  beyond  any  farther  controversy, 
that  the  slaves  could  "  take  care  of  themselves"  I 


VII. 

NATURAL  RESOURCES. 


"  A  country,  whereof  here  needs  no  account, 
Where  from  the  sapphire  fount  the  crisped  brooks, 
Rolling  on  orient  pearl,  and  sands  of  gold, 
With  mazy  error,  under  pendant  shades 
Ran  nectar,  visiting  each  plant,  and  fed 
Flowers  worthy  of  Paradise,  which  not  nice  art, 
In  beds  and  curious  knots,  but  nature  boon 
Poured  forth  profuse  on  hill,  and  dale,  and  plain." 

MILTON. 

THE  South  has  been  called  the  garden  of  our  land. 
Its  genial  climate,  and  fertile  soil,  —  its  abundant  fruit 
age,  and  charming  scenery,  have  won  the  admiration  of 
travelers,  who  have  described  it  in  prose,  or  celebrated 
it  in  verse.  Of  this  we  make  no  complaint.  Nature 
has  here  been  lavish  of  her  bounties,  —  be  ours  the  hum 
ble  task  of  learning  how  they  have  been  improved,  —  or 
if  not,  how  wasted  and  lost. 

My  early  years  were  spent  upon  a  farm,  and  with  its 
variety  of  occupation  I  have  always  been  familiar.  In 
my  first  excursion,  therefore,  into  the  interior  counties 
of  the  slave  States,  my  attention  was  naturally  directed 
to  its  agricultural  resources,  the  habits  and  practices  of 
those  who  till  the  soil,  and  the  different  results  following 


68  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

the  application  of  slave  labor  from  those  which  legiti 
mately  follow  from  free  labor. 

The  Atlantic  coast  of  these  States  is  a  broad,  level 
table  land,  varying  in  width  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  miles,  and  seldom  attaining  an  elevation  of  more 
than  150  feet.  It  is  said  to  be  divided  into  three  ter 
races,  rising  one  above  another  as  you  go  back  from  the 
seaboard,  each  one  being  distinctly  marked  by  diiferent 
kinds  of  plants  and  trees.  But  the  elevation  is  so  small 
as  scarcely  ever  to  be  noticed  without  accurate  measure 
ment.  The  whole  of  it  is  evidently  of  marine  forma 
tion,  and  was  at  some  remote  period  submerged.  The 
soil  is  not  deep,  and  is  entirely  formed  from  the  decom 
position  of  vegetable  deposits,  upon  a  base  of  sand  which 
everywhere  underlies  it. 

The  first  terrace  includes  what  are  called  the  bottom 
lands,  which  have  a  deep,  rich  surface  soil,  formed  of 
silica  and  clay  loam;  combined  with  large  quantities  of 
vegetable  matter  deposited  in  the  freshets,  which  arc 
very  frequent  in  winter,  and  cause  most  of  the  rivers  to 
overflow  their  banks.  They  extend  back  from  a  half 
mile  to  one  or  two  miles  from  the  rivers.  Being  situated 
so  low  as  to  be  overflown  every  heavy  rain,  they  are  not 
much  cultivated.  A  little  Yankee  enterprise  would  dike 
them,  and  thus  easily  convert  them  to  valuable  wheat 
fields. 

FOREST   TREES. 

The  table  lands  produce  a  luxuriant  growth  of  hard 
pine,  pitch  pine,  and  yellow  pine.  All  these  species  of 


NATURAL   RESOURCES.  69 

pine  are  very  valuable  for  ship  timber,  and  vast  quanti 
ties  of  it  are  annually  transported  to  the  North  for  that 
purpose.  The  hard  and  yellow  pine  are  both  sometimes 
found  on  the  bottom  lands,  where  they  attain  a  mam 
moth  size  among  the  magnificent  forests  of  oak  that 
abound  there.  The  large  pine  trees  used  for  masts  of 
ships  are  usually  taken  from  the  low  lands. 

The  white  oak,  as  well  as  the  live  and  red  oak,  grows 
to  an  enormous  size  on  the  bottoms.  This  species  — 
(jucrcus  alb-us  —  (called  "basket"  oak,  in  the  South)  is 
soMieavy  that  it  cannot  be  rafted  green,  and  hence  little 
of  it  is  seen  in  market.  The  wood  is  tough  and  dura 
ble,  and  is  used  in  making  all  kinds  of  farming  utensils, 
carriages,  and  even  baskets  —  from  whence  its  name. 
In  one  of  my  excursions  finding  one  of  these  trees  blown 
down,  I  measured  it.  It  was  six  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
butt,  and  four  feet  in  diameter  80  feet  from  the  root. 
The  cypress  tree,  and  sweet-gum  are  found  in  swamps 
or  bottom  lands.  Both  are  often  seen  from  four  to  six 
feet  in  diameter.  The  cypress  is  a  light,  soft  wood,  and 
is  often  used  for  making  canoes.  Boards  and  shingles 
are  also  made  from  it,  and  as  it  is  easily  wrought,  it  is 
a  frequent  substitute  for  Northern  white  pine  for  the  in 
terior  finishing  of  houses.  The  sweet-gum  is  very  heavy 
and  hard  when  seasoned.  It  is  the  best  wood  in  the 
country  for  keels  of  vessels,  naves  of  wheels ,  or  any 
purpose  where  iron  firmness  and  tenacity  are  required. 

These  lowland  forests  present  a  beautiful  appearance 
when  adorned  with  deep  foliage  and  enlivened  with  the 


70  INSIDE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY,. 

variegated  flowers  of-  spring.  But  in  winter,  when  de 
nuded  of  leaves,  the  long,  gray,  living  moss  that  grows 
thick  and  hangs  from  every  branch,  gives  them  a  sombre 
and  dreary  aspect,  far  from  agreeable.  This  moss  is 
sometimes  used  for  beds. 

The  reckless  waste  of  these  valuable  forests  of  tim 
ber  in  the  South  is  truly  astonishing  to  a  Yankee.  The 
pine  and  oak  standing  on  the  banks  of  their  rivers,  so 
near  that  the  axeman  can  fell  them  in  —  and  so  near  the 
harbors  that  the  chopper's  blows  can  be  heard  from  the 
vessels  —  are  girdled  and  destroyed  for  no  purpose  but 
to  let  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  upon  the  cotton  and  corn. 
And  whole  forests  of  pine  are  frequently  destroyed  to 
obtain  a  "  crop  of  turpentine."  On  the  banks  of  the 
Altamaha,  within  a  dozen  miles  of  the  old  city  of  Darien, 
I  saw  all  the  pines  "  boxed  "  for  a  distance  of  several 
miles.  The  outer  bark  is  all  taken  off,  up  eight  or  ten 
feet  from  the  ground,  spiral  grooves  are  then  cut  round 
the  tree,  and  near  the  ground  a  deep  notch  is  cut  into 
the  tree,  lowest  on  the  inside,  next  the  heart,  forming  a 
vessel  in  which  to  catch  the  turpentine.  This  process 
destroys  the  life  of  the  tree.  The  timber  is  all  wasted, 
the  fires  soon  get  in  and  burn  up  all  the  growth  and  the 
soil,  and  the  lands  are  left  barren  and  worthless. 

Timber  lands  on  the  banks  of  that  river  and  its  tribu 
taries,  covered  with  large  pine  and  oak,  from  twenty  to 
fifty  thousand  feet  to  the  acre,  were  in  the  market  when 
I  was  there  at  one  dollar  per  acre.  Make  Georgia  a 
free  State  and  these  lands  would  be  worth  from  five  to 


NATURAL  RESOURCES.  71 

twenty  dollars  per  acre,  and  would  not  long  remain  un 
sold. 

PRODUCTIONS. 

Of  the  agricultural  productions  of  the  South  it  is  un 
necessary  for  me  to  give  a  detailed  account.  The  great 
staple  is  well  known  to  be  cotton,  which  is  the  leading 
article  among  the  exports  of  our  country.  Some  account 
of  the  manner  of  cultivating  this,  as  well  as  other  crops, 
will  be  found  in  another  chapter.  Besides  cotton,  rice, 
sugar,  and  tobacco  are  produced  in  large  quantities. 
Corn,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  beans,  barley,  and  other  grains 
common  in  the  North  can  be  raised  as  well  in  the  South, 
and  if  cotton,  rice,  tobacco,  and  sugar,  were  not  more 
profitable,  and  especially  if  they  were  not  better  adapted 
to  slave  labor,  cereal  productions  would  abound  in  the 
South  more  than  in  the  North.  Sweet  potatoes  are 
raised  in  great  abundance  in  most  of  the  slave  States. 
The  soil  and  climate  are  also  peculiarly  favorable  for  the 
cultivation  of  silk,  which  free  labor  would  produce  in 
great  quantities,  and  to  great  profit.  The  culture  of  silk 
was  introduced  into  Virginia  as  early  as  1609,  and  in  a 
pamphlet  published  about  that  time  it  was  said  that 
"  there  are  silke  worms,  and  plenty  of  mulberie-trees, 
whereby  ladies,  gentlewomen,  and  little  children,  being 
set  in  the  way  to  do  it,  may  be  all  imploied,  with  pleas 
ure,  making  silke  comparable  to  that  of  Persia,  Turkey,  or 
any  other."  But  slavery  was  soon  afterwards  introduced 
into  Virginia,  and  "  ladies  and  gentlewomen  "  were  above 
labor,  and  the  slaves,  being  incapable  of  cultivating  silk, 


72  INSIDE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY. 

were  set  to  raising  tobacco.*  In  1703  the  cultivation 
of  silk  was  commenced  in  South  Carolina,  but  failed  for 
the  same  reason.  Slaves  could  raise  rice  more  profit 
ably.  It  was  also  introduced  into  Georgia  when  it  was 
first  settled,  in  1733.  Like  all  new  enterprises,  success 
was  not  always  uniform.  But  considerable  quantities 
were  produced,  and  being  encouraged  by  bounties,  it  bid 
fair  to  become  a  permanent  branch  of  industry.  But 
slavery  was  introduced  in  1749,  and  the  culture  of  rice, 
and  afterwards  of  cotton,  gave  it  the  death  blow. 

COMMERCE,  MANUFACTURES,  ETC. 

The  Southern  States  have  all  the  resources  for  foreign 
and  domestic  commerce  which  could  be  desired.  The 
principal  part  of  our  exports  are  from  their  shores. 
The  materials  for  ship-building  abound  in  unlimited  quan 
tities.  And  the  numerous  rivers  afford  facilities  for  ex 
tensive  inland  navigation.  How  these  advantages  have 
been  improved  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 

The  South  also  has  all  the  natural  advantages  for 
manufactures,  in  the  abundance  of  water-power,  and  fuel, 
in  the  nearness  of  the  raw  material,  and  the  facilities 
for  reaching  the  market.  Under  a  free  labor  system  it 
would  probably  surpass  the  North,  For  some  years 
past  strong  efforts  have  been  made  to  introduce  this 
business  into  the  Southern  States,  in  connection  with 
slave  labor,  — but  not  with  much  success.  In  1850  the 
number  of  hands,  male  and  female,  employed  in  manu 
facturing  cotton  in  the  State  of  Georgia  was  only  2,272, 

*  See  Sparks's  Am.  Biography,  new  series  XU,  231. 


NATURAL   RESOURCES.  73 

and  the  value  of  stuffs  made  $  2,135,000.  In  1852  the 
number  of  hands  was  reduced  to  2,037,  and  the  value 
produced  not  so  much  by  $  600,000.*  In  South  Carolina 
the  whole  number  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  cot 
ton  in  1850  was  1,019. 

In  Minerals  the  South  is  also  rich.  Gold,  silver,  iron, 
copper,  and  lead  abound,  and  also  coal.  At  a  branch 
mint  in  the  northern  part  of  Georgia  there  was  produced 
in  1851  $  350,000  in  gold.  Alabama  produces  coal  and 
iron  in  great  abundance.  Iron  and  lead  are  found  in 
the  Carolinas.  The  gold  mines  of  William  Dome  in 
South  Carolina  yield  over  $  200,000  a  year,  and  the 
quartz-crusher  it  is  said  will  increase  the  product  to 
several  thousand  dollars  per  day.  In  North  Carolina 
the  annual  yield  of  gold  is  nearly  as  large,  and  copper 
also  is  found  in  considerable  quantities.  In  Virginia,  be 
sides  the  precious  metals,  there  is  an  inexhaustible  sup 
ply  of  coal. 

It  may  be  well  to  remember,  also,  that  the  slave 
States  have  more  than  twice  the  extent  of  territory 
included  in  the  free  States.  In  the  midst  of  all  this 
natural  wealth,  how  happens  it  that  the  South  contains 
less  than  half  so  great  a  free  population  as  the  North? 
I  will  let  Cassius  M.  Clay,  formerly  a  Kentucky  slave 
holder,  answer  the  question. 

"  I  propose  to  show  to  them,  how  it  is  that  this  million 
of  citizens  have  been  expelled  from  the  soil  by  inevitable 
and  inexorable  laws.  In  the  free  States,  a  man  upon 


*  Hunt's  Magazine,  May,  1852. 

7 


74  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

fifty,  eighty,  and  one  hundred  acres  (which  last,  perhaps, 
is  the  average  of  all  the  farms  in  all  the  free  States), 
can  raise,  educate,  and  settle  in  life,  a  large  family! 
Why  ?  Because  he  has  his  manufacturer  and  merchant 
set  down  along  side  of  him.  He  sells  everything :  noth 
ing  is  lost:  "many  mickles  make  a  muckle"  says  the 
Scottish  maxim.  But  here  in  the  slave  States,  in  conse 
quence  of  all  our  markets  being  distant  markets,  Charles 
ton,  New  Orleans,  Cincinnati,  or  New  York,  and  through 
them  the  great  world,  we  lose  all  the  "  odds  and  ends  " 
which  are  saved  in  the  free  States.  But  the  main  loss 
is  in  the  main  articles  of  production,  and  return  con 
sumption.  For  instance,  the  citizen  of  Fayette  sends 
a  pound  of  beef  to  the  city  of  New  York :  there  it  is 
sold  for  six  cents ;  but  three  cents  comes  off  for  cost 
of  transportation  —  the  net  proceeds  are  therefore  three 
cents  a  pound.  But  the  farmer  living  along  side  of  New 
York,  sells  also  for  six  cents ;  but  that  is  the  net  profit 
as  he  has  no  outlay 'in  going  to  market.  He  sells,  there 
fore,  for  twice  as  much  as  we.  Of  course  if  he  can  live 
upon  one  hundred,  we  must  have  two  hundred  acres. 
Again,  the  articles  which  he  gets  in  exchange  cost  him 
near  one  hundred  per  cent  less  than  us ;  or  one  half  of 
our  income  is  lost  in  consequence  of  the  distance  of  our 
articles  of  consumption,  If,  then,  the  free  farmer  can 
live  upon  one  hundred  acres,  we  must  have  four  hundred  ! 
Any  one  can  well  see,  then,  that  if  we  must  have  four 
times  as  much  land  to  live  here,  as  there,  we  must  of 
necessity  emigrate.  But  a  home  market  can  afford  ma 
nures  ;  and  high  price,  and  personal  supervision,  encour- 


NATURAL   RESOURCES.  75 

age  "  high  farming/'  and  the  lands  are  continually  improv 
ing.  Freedom  gives  education,  education  gives  science 
in  cultivation,  and  increased  product — more  leisure — 
more  science  —  and  more  population.  But  in  the  slave 
States  the  "shinning  system"  prevails,  —  large  farms 
are  necessary  in  consequence  of  distance  of  markets  — 
large  farms  can  not  undergo  the  manuring  system:  the 
virgin  soil  of  centuries  exhausted  in  deposite,  is  worn 
oat  in  slovenly,  ignorant  cultivation.  In  Virginia,  and 
Maryland,  and  North  Carolina,  were  good  plains,  and 
fertile  slopes,  but  slaves  have  turned  them  into  barren 
ness.  The  whites  emigrated  —  dro\e  out  the  wild  beasts 
and  Indians  —  cleared  the  forest;  but  once  more  the 
tide  of  slaves  follows  on ;  the  result  is  the  same.  Bar 
renness  follows  in  the  wake  of  the  slave.  The  broom 
sedge,  the  mullen,  and  the  briar,  pursue  ever  in  his  foot 
steps  !  Are  not  those  who  have  desolated  Judea  and 
Asia  Minor,  and  turned  her  cities  and  fertile  vales  into 
the  abodes  of  wild  beasts  —  where  "the  fox  looks  out 
at  the  window,  and  the  long  grass  grows  upon  the  walls  ! " 
—  as  criminal  in  the  eyes  of  Nature's  God,  as  they  who 
stoned  the  prophets,  and  rejected  him  who  taught  justice, 
mercy,  and  love  ? 

The  towns  are  subject  to  the  same  laws  of  depression 
as  the  country ;  and  neither  in  the  field  nor  the  work 
shop,  is  there  any  escape  from  the  ruin  of  slave  labor 
competition  1  There  are  two  great  data  upon  which  the 
growth  of  cities  depends  :  the  number  of  consumers,  and 
their  productive,  and  consequently  consumptive,  capacity. 
For  they  are  but  the  aggregation,  for  convenience  of  so- 


76  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

ciety  and  exchange,  of  all  those  persons,  who  expect  to 
give  the  product  of  their  intellects  or  hands  for  the 
fruits  of  the  soil.  A  hatter  sells  to  the  twenty  thousand 
people  of  the  county  of  Fayette,  one  hundred  hats  a 
year :  under  the  free  system,  when  the  population  shall 
have  increased  to  forty  thousand,  he  will  sell  two  hund 
red  hats.  At  the  same  time  his  real  estate  advances  in 
value  as  the  increase  of  population.  He  is  a  thriving 
mechanic  —  he  can  not  only  educate  his  children,  but 
set  them  up  in  the  same  trade  with  himself.  The  father 
sells  to  the  fathers  of  the  country,  and  his  sons  to  their 
sons  —  and  what  applies  to  the  hatter,  applies  to  every 
resident  of  a  city ;  so  that  there  is  no  limit  to  the  popu 
lation  of  the  city  or  country,  until  such  time  as  the  earth 
shall  cease  to  sustain  the  inhabitants.  And  by  manufac 
tories,  Massachusetts,  England,  and  some  other  countries, 
sustain  a  higher  population  than  their  soil  by  agriculture 
could  possibly  support. 

"  Now  reverse  the  case,  let  slavery  be  introduced,  and 
immediately,  as  I  have  shown,  two  laws  begin  to  pre 
vail  :  the  whole  population,  white  and  black,  begins  to 
decrease,  and  the  productive  power  of  the  black  is  only 
half  that  of  the  white.  The  result  is  that  the  hatter, 
who  at  first  sold  one  hundred  hats,  in  the  course  of 
these  events,  now  sells  but  fifty:  he  is  a  decaying 
tradesman.  Just  at  the  time  that  he  needs  more  money 
for  the  education  and  settlement  of  his  children,  he  has 
less  than  in  early  life ;  the  profits  of  his  trade  continu 
ally  decline,  whilst  his  real  estate  declines  also,  until  at 
last  he  is  compelled  "  to  pull  up  stakes,"  to  use  a  com- 


NATURAL  RESOURCES  77 

mon  phrase,  and  move  to  the  free  States,  where  his 
consumers  from  the  country  have  gone  before  him  !  And 
tliis  reasoning  is  sustained  by  experience.  Norfolk,  in 
Virginia,  was  once  the  emporium  of  Eastern  Commerce, 
but  slaves  have  driven  out  her  whites ;  ignorance  and 
sloth  have  exhausted  her  lands ;  manufactures  fail,  and 
commerce  fails  with  them.  Now  Norfolk  is  forgotten, 
and  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  and  Boston,  arc  great 
cities,  and  the  sails  of  their  commerce  whiten  every  sea. 
The  Virginia  Republican  says,  "  a  little  more  than  eighty 
years  ago,  the  imports  of  Virginia  amounted  to  four 
millions,  those  of  New  York  to  nine  hundred  thousand ; 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-nine,  the  imports  of  Vir 
ginia  were  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand,  and  those 
of  New  York  were  ninety-two  millions."  That  is,  the 
difference  in  the  race,  in  less  than  a  century,  all  the 
natural  advantages  being  in  favor  of  slavery,  between  a 
free  and  a  slave  State,  is  about  sixteen  hundred  times 
in  favor  of  freedom !  Cities  in  slave  States  with  the 
first  tide  of  white  population  grow  to  a  certain  extent 
of  magnificence ;  when  the  slaves  come  in;  they  become 
stationary,  then  begin  to  decline.  Chimneys  topple  off, 
and  go  unrepaired  —  underpinnings  decay  —  houses  go 
unpainted  —  shutters  fall  to  pieces  —  lights  are  broken 
out,  and  old  cloths  and  pasted  paper  are  substituted  —  all 
things  indicate,  that  the  city  is  constitutionally  diseased 
with  slavery,  and  hastens  to  its  end."* 

*  Clay's  Speech  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  1851. 


VIII. 

SOUTHERN  AGRICULTURE. 


"  The  axe  rang  sharply  'mid  those  forest  shades, 

Which  from  creation  toward  the  sky  had  spread 

In  unshorn  beauty.     There,  with  vigorous  arm, 

Wrought  a  bold  emigrant,  and  by  his  side 

His  little  son,  with  question  and  response 

Beguiled  the  time."  MRS.  SIGOUHNEY. 

THIS  picture  is  rarely  seen  in  the  South,  as  it  is  drawn 
in  these  beautiful  lines.  The  foreign  emigrant  landing 
upon  our  shores,  tired  of  the  despotisms  of  the  old 
world,  turns  his  back  instinctively  upon  the  South,  and 
makes  his  home  in  the  free  States,  There  are  about 
twice  the  number  of  men  of  foreign  birth  in  New  York 
that  there  are  in  all  the  slave  States  combined. 

And  yet  the  South  is  a  place  of  constant  emigration. 
For,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  the  Southern  mode  of  agri- 
tulturevery  soon  exhausts  whatever  soil  it  touches, —  if 
we  except  the  bottom  lands,  —  and  the  planter  is  driven 
by  necessity  to  abandon  his  premises  and  begin  anew. 
And  though  he  plants  the  first  seed  that  has  ever  been 
dropped  into  the  soil  by  man,  the  same  result  follows 
his  labors,  —  fertility  is  soon  succeeded  by  barren 
ness, —  and  as  he  is  dm- en  about  by  this  curse,  he  seeks 
new  fields,  and  becomes  a  wanderer  for  life. 


,  SOUTHERN   AGRICULTURE.  <  J 

He  travels  through  the  woods  to  the  spot  where  he 
has  decided  once  more  to  "  pitch  his  tent,"  with  his  fam 
ily  in  a  long  cart,  covered  with  coarse  cotton  cloth,  drawn 
by  mules.  The  slaves  go  before  the  family,  on  foot,  to 
put  up  a  rude  tent  for  their  reception.  They  build  a 
log  house  for  the  master,  and  little  log  cabins,  the  size  of 
"Uncle  Tom's,"  all  around  the  master's  house,  and  with 
in  a  few  rods,  for  the  slaves.  He  takes  none  of  the 
slave  children  into  the  new  field  with  their  parents. 
They  are  not  wanted  there.  They  would  rather  be  a 
burden  than  a  service  to  him. 

The  large  trees  are  then  girdled,  by  cutting  through 
the  bark  all  round  the  tree  near  the  ground.  This  pro 
cess  destroys  the  life  of  the  trees,  the  leaves  perish  and 
fall  off,  after  which  there  is  little  obstruction  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun  as  they  fall  upon  the  earth  beneath  them.  The 
deadened  trees  are  allowed  to  remain  standing  in  the 
field  till  they  fall  by  decay,  or  are  blown  down  by  winds. 
Hence  a  cleared  field  is  seldom  seen  in  the  South,  as 
these  large  dead  trees  stand  until  the  soil  is  worn  out  by 
constant  cropping,  when  it  is  "  turned  out  to  commons," 
and  the  young  pines,  or  perhaps  a  different  growth,  spring 
tip  again,  and  soon  grow  and  thicken  to  a  forest. 

The  small  trees  are  felled,  and  piled  up,  to  be  burned. 
The  piling  is  called  the  "  log  rolling,"  in  which  whole 
neighborhoods  of  masters  and  slaves  are  mutually  en- 
gajied  in  rolling  the  logs  together  for  the  burning.  The 
log  rolling  affords  some  amusement,  and  much  hard  work. 
The  whites  soon  become  as  black  as  "  cuffee"  himself,  as 
the  lire  has  previously  run  over  the  logs  and  charred 


80  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

them.  In  this  labor  the  master  and  man  work  together. 
They  eat  the  "  hog  and  hominy"  from  the  same  kettle, 
and  drink  the  whiskey  from  the  same  bottle,  enough  gen 
erally  to  place  them  all  on  a  level  before  bed  time.  Af 
ter  the  burning,  the  plow  is  put  in,  which  runs  very  near 
to  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  as  the  roots  do  not  spread 
out  near  the  surface,  as  we  see  them  in  the  North,  but 
run  directly  down  through  the  sand  to  the  clay,  upon 
which  the  soil  and  sand  rest. 

The  field  is  now  ready  for  the  seed,  But  as  rotation 
of  crops  is  seldom  instituted  in  a  slave  labor  system,  I 
will  describe  the  process  of  the  cultivation  of  the  corn 
crop.  The  field  is  lightly  furrowed  with  a  plow,  then 
marked  off  crosswise  by  dragging  a  long  rake  with 
wooden  teeth,  or  short  "chains  instead  of  teeth,  four  feet 
apart.  Thus  by  the  drilling  one  way,  and  cross  marking 
the  other,  the  whole  field  is  struck  off  into  squares  four 
feet  on  each  side.  One  kernel  of  corn  only  is  dropped 
at  every  corner  of  these  squares,  forming  rows  four  feet 
apart,  running  at  right  angles,  so  that  the  plow  may  be 
run  in  either  direction  between  the  rows.  The  old 
"  Virginia"  corn,  as  the  large  species  of  Southern  corn  is 
sometimes  called,  is  still  raised  in  most  of  the  slave 
States.  The  new  fields  produce  from  thirty  to  fifty 
bushels  of  this  corn  to  the  acre.  The  same  field  is  con 
stantly  planted  with  corn,  year  after  year,  so  long  in 
some  instances  that  it  produces  not  more  than  four  bush 
els  to  the  acre.  Some  planters  grow  corn  and  cotton 
alternately,  but,  as  the  same  properties  of  soil  are  re 
quired  to  produce  both,  this  is  not  much  relief  to  the 


SOUTIIEKN   AGRICULTURE. 


81 


lands.  The  cotton  plant  flourishes  on  dry  lands,  but  it 
exhausts  the  soil  more  than  corn. 

Northern  farmers  cannot  understand  how  those  plant 
ers  can  live  who  raise  only  four  bushels  of  corn  to  the 
acre.  But  this  is  easily  explained  to  all  who  are  ac 
quainted  with  the  manner  of  living,  and  the  system  of 
cultivation  they  have  adopted. 

"  But,"  says  an  inquirer,  "  why  do  they  remain  on  the 
old  fields  that  produce  only  four  bushels  to  the  acre, 
while  the  new  fields  yield  thirty  bushels,  and  can  be  pur 
chased  for  one  dollar  per  acre  ?  " 

The  only  answer  I  can  make  to  this  is,  that  in  the  old 
worn-out  districts  many  of  them  seem  not  to  possess 
means  and  energy  sufficient  to  remove  to  more  produc 
tive  localities.  Those  who  are  able,  or  more  energetic, 
emigrate  to  new  fields^  Others  remain  where  they  are. 

When  the  fields  have  been  planted  a  few  years  with 
corn,  the  grasses  all  die  out.  The  Northern  grasses, 
such  as  clover,  timothy,  and  red-top,  do  not  flourish  well 
south  of  Virginia.  The  indigenous  grasses  of  the  table 
lands  are  the  slender  "  spire-grass"  and  "  crow-grass." 

Southern  farmers  do  not  replenish  their  fields  with 
manure,  and  one  result  of  this  is  that  weeds  seldom 
spring  up  to  choke  the  corn.  Hence  in  the  old  fields, 
the  hoe  is  not  used  after  planting.  No  labor  is  required, 
except  to  plow  each  way  between  the  rows,  until  the 
harvest.  One  slave  and  one  mule  can  cultivate  fifty 
acres  of  this  corn  on  this  land.  The  plowing  is  com 
menced  about  the  first  of  December  .and  finished  by  the 
middle  of  February,  when  the  season  for  planting  returns. 


82  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

Two  or  three  months  are  spent  in  planting,  —  which 
leaves  time  to  plow  twice  between  the  rows  before  the 
harvest  commences.  If  four  bushels  to  the  acre  are  har 
vested  from  the  fifty  acres  as  the  reward  of  the  labor 
of  one  man  and  one  mule,  every  master  who  owns  one 
slave  and  a  mule  can  raise  enough  for  his  support.  In 
some  of  the  old  counties,  where  this  system  has  been 
applied  for  a  long  time,  and  nearly  all  the  properties  of 
the  soil,  adapted  to  the  production  of  corn,  have  been 
exhausted,  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  acres  of  such  corn. 
All  the  ''first  settlers"  who  had  sufficient  energy,  had 
fled,  either  to  the  cities  to  engage  in  other  kinds  of  bus 
iness,  or  to  the  woods  to  take  up  new  fields,  —  leaving 
behind  them  a  poor,  ignorant,  dispirited,  shiftless  popu 
lation,  inhabiting  old,  black,  filthy,  open,  cheerless  log 
huts, — exhibiting  a  greater  degree  of  misery,  wretched 
ness,  poverty  and  crime  than  can  probably  be  found  in 
any  other  Christian  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

After  the  soil  is  entirely  worn  out  by  this  process,  and 
all  the  dark,  earthy,  fertilizing  properties  have  been  ex 
hausted  in  the  production  of  corn,  the  white  sand  appears 
on  the  surface  again,  and  those  old  abandoned  fields,  as 
you  look  over  them,  appear  nearly  as  white  with  sand 
as  Northern  grass  fields  when  covered  with  a  light  fall 
of  dry  snow  in  winter,  with  the  long  spires  of  grass 
standing  up  through  the  snow.  Lands  thus  exhausted 
of  fertility  arc  worthless  for  a  free  labor  system.  There 
is  no  possibility  of  reclaiming  them  by  subsoiling.  There 
is  therefore  no  prospect  that  a  comfortable  subsistence 
will  ever  be  obtained  from  them  a^ain. 


SOUTHERN   AGRICULTURE.  83 

"  The  middle  region  of  Georgia,"  says  Colton's  Gaz 
etteer,  "  was  once  very  productive,  but  owing  to  the  op 
pressive  system  of  cultivation  adopted  by  the  planters, 
it  has  become  in  many  parts  much  impoverished.  And 
large  gullies  and  red,  barren  hill-sides  often  meet  the 
eye  in  places  where  once  abundant  crops  were  produced." 

COTTON. 

The  Cotton  plant  is  an  annual  one.  very  vigorous,  and 
it  exhausts  the  soil  rapidly.  It  requires  less  moisture 
than  corn,  and  therefore  suffers  less  in  the  severe  droughts 
of  a  long,  hot  season,  The  seeds  are  planted  as  early 
in  the  spring  as  corn,  as  it  requires  a  long  time  to  grow. 
The  field  is  formed  into  beds  by  the  double  furrow,  about 
three  feet  apart,  and  the  seed  is  sown  on  the  top  of  the 
bed,  a  few  inches  apart,  like  apple  seeds  in  the  nurseries. 
The  cotton  plant  resembles  little  apple  trees  of  three 
or  four  years  growth,  when  both  are  seen  in  winter,  de 
nuded  of  foliage.  The  capsule,  or  boll,  which  contains 
the  cotton,  is  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter,  and  resembles, 
in  color  and  consistence,  the  puff  remaining  from  a  de 
composed  apple  or  potatoe. 

When  the  cotton  capsule  is  broken  by  the  early  frosts 
the  cotton  expands  and  unfolds,  appearing  at  a  little  dis 
tance  like  the  full  blown  white  rose.  Its  attachment  to 
the  capsule,  when  fully  matured,  is  so  slender  that  it  can 
be  picked  off  as  easily  as  the  leaves  of  the  rose  just  ready 
to  fall.  The  pickers  take  it  in  their  baskets  to  the  gin> 
house.  Tin's  building  always  reminds  the  Yankee  of 
the  old  cider  mill,  where  the  horse  walked  around  on  the 


84  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

ground;  and  the  apples  were  put  into  the  hopper  in  the 
story  above. 

The  cotton-gin  is  a  very  valuable  machine,  of  Yankee 
invention,  for  which  cotton  growers  have  expressed  pe 
culiar  gratitude.  Like  most  useful  inventions,  the  gin 
is  very  simple  in  its  construction.  As  you  look  upon  it, 
it  appears  like  a  cylinder  made  of  circular  saws.  But  it 
is  a  drum  of  wood,  about  three  feet  in  length,  the  size 
of  the  bass-drum  used  by  bands  of  music,  encircled  with 
saws  two  feet  in  diameter.  The  saws  are  one-fourth  of 
an  inch  apart,  in  a  horizontal  position,  with  teeth  all 
looking  forward,  like  the  splitting  saw.  It  is  made  to 
revolve  with  sufficient  velocity  by  a  single  horse  power. 
The  cotton  is  brought  in  contact  with  this  drum  of  saws 
by  the  receiver,  which  has  one  side  covered  with  strong 
parallel  wires.  The  saws  tear  the  cotton  apart,  and 
draw  it  between  the  wires,  which  are  too  near  together 
to  admit  the  seeds,  and  they  fall  to  the  ground.  The 
cotton  is  swept  from  the  saws  by  a  revolving  brush,  and 
is  then  ready  to  be  baled  for  the  market. 

The  volatile  oil  and  ammonia  of  the  seed  render  it 
valuable  as  a  manure.  After  fermentation  in  the  heap 
has  destroyed  its  power  to  vegetate,  it  is  often  used  for 
this  purpose,  being  dropped  in  the  hill  with  corn,  and 
seeds  of  other  annual  plants.  Cotton  is  the  most  cer 
tain  and  profitable  production  of  all  dry,  arable  lands  in 
hot  climates.  And  they  plant  the  old  fields  as  long  as 
they  will  yield  two  dollars'  worth  to  the  acre. 

BICE. 
The  "  rice-fields"  arc  principally  reclaimed  from  lands 


SOUTHERN   AGRICULTURE.  85 

lying  on  the  margins  of  rivers,  near  the  ocean.  Dikes 
of  earth  are  thrown  up  around  the  fields  to  prevent  the 
tide  -waters  from  overflowing  them.  They  are  then  plant 
ed  with  rice,  in  drills  about  one  foot  apart.  The  fresh 
water  from  the  river  above  is  then  admitted  through 

O 

gates  in  the  dikes  until  the  field  is  entirely  covered. 
The  water  prevents  grass  and  weeds  from  growing 
among  the  rice,  while  the  rice  will  grow  under  water. 
After  the  rice  comes  up  and  grows  a  few  inches,  the 
water  is  drained  off  to  afford  opportunity  to  replant,  or 
thin  out.  as  may  be  necessary.  The  field  is  then  flowed 
again  with  fresh  water,  which  is  allowed  to  remain  sev 
eral  weeks  before  the  second  draining,  prior  to  the  ma 
turing  of  the  rice  for  the  harvest. 

This  last  draining  off  of  the  waters  occurs  in  the  hot 
weather  of  August  and  September,  which  occasions  so 
much  disease  and  death  on  the  rice  fields  at  that  season. 
The  vegetable  matter  which  has  been  decomposed  by  the 
water,  when  exposed  to  a  hot  sun,  fills  the  atmosphere 
with  poisonous  gasses.  The  malaria  thus  generated,  is 
diffused  through  the  surrounding  country.  The  African 
constitution  resists  the  effects  of  it  longer  than  any  other. 
The  absorbent  vessels,  whose  office  it  is  to  take  up  what 
ever  is  unhealthy  in  the  system  and  throw  it  off,  act  more 
efficiently  in  systems  that  perspire  freely.  Hence  the 
negro,  who  sweats  more  profusely  than  the  white  man, 
wards  off  the  fever  much  longer  on  the  rice  plantations. 
I  am  fully  satisfied,  from  this  fact  alone,  that  the  grow 
ing  of  rice  in  those  unhealthy  localities  would  be  wholly 
8 


86  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

abandoned  if  the  labor  of  the  colored  man  could  not  bo 
obtained. 

ROTATION   OF   CROPS. 

To  whatever  cause  it  may  be  ascribed,  the  fact  is  too 
well  known  to  be  denied,  that  a  '•'  rotation  of  crops,"  on 
which  the  success  of  farmers  in  the  North  almost  wholly 
depends,  is  scarcely  known  in  the  slave  States.  This  is 
one  reason  why  the  soil  in  the  South  so  soon  becomes 
valueless.  Without  entering  into  any  speculation  about 
the  matter,  I  will  only  say  that  where  the  labor  is  per 
formed  for  those  who  know  nothing  about  the  science 
of  agriculture,  and  by  those  who  care  nothing  about 
it,  —  whose  only  problem  of  life  is  to  ascertain  by  how 
little  labor  they  can  escape  the  lash,  —  I  do  not  believe 
that  the  rotation  of  crops,  the  application  of  manures, 
or  any  other  means  of  preserving  or  replenishing  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  will  ever  be  found  practicable.  The 
experience  of  a  hundred  years  is  demonstration  suffi 
cient. 

And  the  converse  of  the  proposition  has  also  been 
fully  demonstrated.  Some  of  the  old  fields,  worn  out 
by  slave  labor,  have  been  purchased  by  Northern  farm 
ers,  and  by  free  labor  cultivation  they  have  been  re 
claimed  and  raised  to  more  than  their  original  value. 
Lyell,  in  his  "  Travels  in  the  United  States,"  though  he 
has  generally  taken  without  question  whatever  was  told 
him  by  the  slaveholders  among  whom  he  was  so  hospit 
ably  entertainedj  has  nevertheless  recorded  some  im- 


SOUTHERN    AGRICULTURE.  87 

portant  facts,  coming  so  much  within  the  sphere  of  his 
profession  that  he  could  not  be  deceived.  In  1841  he 
noticed  some  of  these  worn-out  fields  on  the  Potomac 
river,  where  slavery  had  nearly  finished  its  work.  In 
1845  he  traveled  down  the  river  again,  and  gives  the 
following  account  of  his  observations  : 

"  As  we  sailed  down  the  Potomac,  a  landed  proprietor 
of  Fairfax  county  pointed  out  to  me  some  estates  in 
Virginia,  in  which  free  had  been  substituted  for  slave 
labor  since  I  was  here  in  1841.  Some  farmers  came 
from  Xcw  Hampshire  and  Connecticut,  and,  having  bought 
the  land  at  five  dollars  an  acre,  tilled  it  with  their  own 
hands  and  those  of  their  families,  aided  in  some  cases 
by  a  few  hired  whites.  To  the  astonishment  of  the 
surrounding  planters,  before  the  end  of  four  years  they 
had  raised  the  value  of  the  soil  from  five  to  forty  dol 
lars  per  acre,  having  introduced  for  the  first  time  a  ro 
tation  of  corn  and  green  crops,  instead  of  first  exhaust 
ing  the  soil,  and  then  letting  it  lie  fallow  for  years  to 
recover  itself." 

Not  only  are  the  sandy  loams  on  the  table-lands 
destroyed  by  the  Southern  system  of  agriculture,  but 
the  rich  clay  loams,  and  the  high  rolling  lands,  are  ruined 
by  the  same  process.  This  fact  has  been  well  noticed 
by  Mr.  Bildreth  in  his  "Despotism  in  America." 

<i  When  tobacco  is  the  crop,  the  fresh  land  is  planted 
with  tobacco  each  successive  year  till  its  fertility  is  ex 
hausted.  When  it  will  no  longer  produce  tobacco,  it  is 
planted  with  corn  and  wheat,  till  it  will  not  afford  a  crop 


88  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

worth  gathering.  It  is  then  turned  out,  that  is,  left  mi- 
fenced  arid  uncultivated. 

"  In  the  cotton  growing  States,  corn  and  cotton  are 
planted  alternately,  till  the  land  is  completely  worn  out. 
When  its  original  fertility  is  exhausted,  no  further  at 
tempt  is  made  at  its  cultivation.  It  is  turned  out,  and 
the  labor  of  the  plantation  is  applied  to  new  fields,  which 
presently  undergo  a  similar  fate.  Thus,  every  year,  a 
certain  quantity  of  land  is  given  over  as  worthless,  and 
new  inroads  are  made  upon  the  original  forests.  Agri 
culture  becomes  a  continual  process  of  opening  new 
fields  and  abandoning  the  old." 

The  alluvion  carried  off  from  the  inclined  plains  de 
stroys  great  quantities  of  plowed  lands  lying  on  South 
ern  rivers.  The  "  side  hills,"  on  the  margins  of  the 
running  waters,  after  being  flowed  for  many  years 
in  succession,  are  greatly  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
heavy  winter  rains,  and  often,  after  the  grass  roots  are 
all  dead,  whole  fields  are  thus  destroyed.  Sometimes 
large  fields  of  fifty  acres  or  more  which  have  been  re 
cently  flowed  are  all  washed  off  clean  to  the  pan  in  a 
single  shower.  By  this  constant  washing  of  the  lands 
thousands  of  acres  are  annually  ruined, 

Another  great  damage  resulting  from  this  constant 
transportation  of  soils  from  the  country  to  the  coast,  is 
the  obstruction  of  navigation  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers. 
From  New  Orleans  around  to  Norfolk  we  have  frequent 
accounts  of  the  filling  up  of  harbors  with  sand.  Forty 
thousand  dollars,  I  think,  were  expended  to  clear  out 


SOUTHERN    AGRICULTURE.  89 

the  channel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  in  the  spring 
of  1853.  So  much  of  the  red  clay  in  the  subsoil  of  the 
high  lands  back  in  the  country  is  washed  off  into  the  riv 
ers,  that  the  waters  are  colored  by  it  until  they  reach 
the  ocean.  All  over  the  South,  in  the  old  fields  on  the 
banks  of  the  rivers,  impassable  ravines  may  be  seen,  cut 
through  the  soil  as  the  water  came  down  the  hills,  and 
the  naked  barren  subsoil  of  whole  plantations  is  visible 
from  the  same  cause. 

CATTLE,   SWIXE,   ETC. 

All  the  domestic  animals  roam  at  large  on  the  rang 
es —  commons  —  in  Geonria  during  the  winter  as  well 
as  summer,  except  the  mules,  which  are  kept  in  the  sta 
bles  and  used  for  plowing.  The  cattle  become  very 
lean  in  winter,  subsisting  entirely  on  the  slender  u  crow- 
grass,"  and  browse.  Vast  numbers  of  them  die  in  the 
spring  from  starvation,  or  perish  in  the  rivers.  All  along 
the  creeks  and  water-courses,  when  the  feeble  old  oxen 
and  cows  go  down  to  drink,  their  feet  sink  in  the  miry 
clay,  and  they  cannot  get  out.  For  miles  together  the 
boggy  margins  of  the  low  bottom  lands  are  bleached 
with  their  bones. 

The  Southern  farmer  derives  very  little  benefit  from 
any  kind  of  neat  stock  except  sheep.  In  the  spring  the 
young  cattle  grow  fat,  and  are  fit  for  the  table  for  a 
short  time  before  the  hot  season  comes  on.  But  they 
are  seldom  found  in  a  suitable  condition  for  beef,  with 
out  stall  feeding,  after  they  are  more  than  four  or  five 
years  old.  Gov.  Troup  told  me  that  he  owned  oxen 


90  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

that  had  never  worn  the  yoke,  and  from  which  he  had 
never  received  any  profit,  and  all  he  ever  expected  to 
receive  was  the  hides  when  they  should  die,  if  his  boys 
should  happen  to  find  them. 

Some  men  who  cut  timber  for  the  market  work  their 
oxen  constantly ;  and  sometimes  others  who  use  mules 
principally,  when  they  want  to  draw  a  load  too  heavy  for 
the  mules,  send  the  slaves  into  the  woods  to  catch  the 
wild  "  steers"  as  they  call  them  all,  no  matter  how 
old,  —  and  with  great  propriety,  —  for  they  always  act 
like  steers  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  subject  them  to 
labor.  An  incident  occurred  while  I  was  there  which 
will  serve  to  illustrate  the  energy  and  skill  exhibited  by 
slaveholders  in  the  accomplishment  of  their  purposes, 
with  the  aid  of  mules  and  oxen,  when  they  have  no 
Yankees  to  assist  them. 

Mr.  W.  had  contracted  to  deliver  some  heavy  masts 
for  ships  to  a  commission  merchant  in  the  city  of  S. 
He  sent  his  slaves  into  the  forest  to  select  and  hew  the 
masts.  One  stick  was  prepared,  about  eighty  feet  in 
length,  which  measured,  after  the  sap  was  all  taken  off, 
three  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet,  board 
measure.  Seven  pairs  of  mules  were  then  harnessed, 
and  nine  pairs  of  wild  "  steers"  were  captured  in  the 
woods.  Yokes  were  then  made  of  straight  sticks,  and 
with  small  bows  the  cattle  were  fastened  together  in 
pairs.  One  end  of  a  rope  was  attached  to  the  outside 
horn  of  one  of  each  pair,  and  a  stout  negro  held  the  oth 
er  end,  to  pull  back  when  it  was  necessary  to  stop  the 
team,  —  as  the  steers  had  not  learned  the  meaning  of 
"whoa-hish." 


SOUTHERN   AGRICULTURE.  9l 

When  the  sixteen  pairs  of  steers  and  mules  were  all 
attached  to  the  wheels  on  which  the  ma.st  was  loaded, 
and  everything  was  ready,  word  was  given  to  start !  The 
negroes  halloed,  and  screamed,  and  threw  chips,  and 
bark,  and  clubs,  —  and  a  complete  melee  ensued.  Some 
of  the  oxen  pulled  in  one  direction,  some  in  another. 
Sometimes  the  load  would  move  a  few  feet,  and  then 
suddenly  stop.  Then  the  "  Cracker"  whipped  the  ne 
groes,  and  the  negroes  whipped  the  mules.  The  angry 
mules  would  spring  and  rend  a  trace.  The  frightened 
steers  would  leap  and  split  a  yoke,  or  break  a  bow,  and 
then  fly  for  life !  The  slaves  seemed  quite  willing  to 
endure  the  whipping  for  the  sake  of  the  frolic.  While 
the  Yankee  spectator  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  lu 
dicrous  picture.  After  working  nearly  three  days,  and 
whipping  the  negroes  and  mules  half  to  death,  the  mast 
was  drawn  about  one  third  of  the  distance  to  the  river, 
which  was  only  a  mile,  and  then  the  project  was  aban 
doned  !  Four  pairs  of  oxen,  such  as  are  owned  on  any 
of  the  large  farms  at  the  North,  could  have  drawn  it  to 
the  river  in  an  hour.  But  it  was  left  to  rot  upon  the 
ground,  valuable  as  it  was,  for  want  of  sufficient  force  to 
move  it. 

The  raising  of  wool  would  be  very  profitable  in  the 
slave  States,  but  for  the  destruction  of  the  sheep  by 
dogs.  This  animal  is  the  companion  of  the  slaveholder, 
and  many  of  them  are  kept  to  protect  him  from  the  vio 
lence  of  injured  slaves,  and  to  pursue  them  when  they 
run  away.  The  hungry  dogs  make  horrid  havoc  among 
the  sheep. 


92  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

The  wool  is  coarse,  and  is  used  with  cotton  in  the 
manufacture  of  homespun  clothing  for  the  Crackers. 
Very  little  "factory  cloth"  is  worn  in  some  of  the  dis 
tricts.  The  old  spinning  wheel  and  loom  are  still  in 
operation.  The  Cracker  seldom  suffers  pecuniary  loss 
from  too  sudden  change  of  fashions.  He  is  doggedly 
opposed  to  innovation.  The  first  pattern  of  frock  coat 
and  trousers  worn  by  the  country  planters  in  the  Old 
Dominion,  is  now  the  most  modern  style  in  central 
Georgia  and  the  Carolinas.  Even  imported  dye  stuffs 
are  little  used,  as  the  native  barks  impart  the  favorite 
otter  color  at  a  less  expense. 

The  extensive  oak  forests  of  the  South  afford  sub 
sistence  for  large  herds  of  swine.  The  pigs  — -  like 
lambs  —  are  marked  in  the  ears,  and  are  then  permitted 
to  run  at  large  in  the  woods.  The  owners  occasionally 
take  a  bag  of  corn  on  a  horse  and  ride  out  to  feed 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  herds  together. 
Masters  who  own  good  acorn  lands  furnish  bacon  to  their 
slaves ;  while  the  slaves  of  masters  who  own  none  but 
pine  lands,  and  cannot  afford  to  fatten  pork  entirely  on 
corn  for  their  hands,  seldom  or  never  have  the  "pound 
of  meat  a  week"  I  knew  two  fugitives  from  South 
Carolina,  one  of  whom  said  that  he  never  tasted  meat 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  The  other,  from 
the  same  county,  told  me  that  he  always  had  meat  three 
times  a  day,  and  as  much  as  he  wanted.  The  former 
was  raised  in  the  "pine  woods,"  far  from  any  river. 
The  latter  lived  near  an  oak  forest.  There  was  no  dis 
crepancy  in  their  testimony. 


SOUTHERN    AGRICULTURE.  93 

When  the  swine  are  to  be  slaughtered,  the  dogs  catch 
them,  or  the  butchers  shoot  them  The  old  hogs  become 
very  ferocious  in  the  woods  after  being  hunted.  The 
tusks  of  the  males  grow  to  a  great  length.  I  saw  one 
which  had  been  taken  from  a  wild  boar,  over  seven 
inches  long.  They  are  formidable  weapons  of  defense, 
as  many  a  poor,  luckless  dog  has  felt,  to  his  sorrow. 

Beeves,  also,  are  sometimes  shot  by  the  butchers  in 
the  country,  as  they  are  better  skilled  in  the  use  of  the 
rifle  than  of  any  other  instrument  of  death.  At  Oconee, 
two  men  went  out  to  kill  a  cow-  One  of  them  fired, 
and  the  ball  struck  her  head,  but  not  in  "  the  right  place," 
as  the  butchers  say,  and  it  only  crazed  the  animal.  She 
rushed  through  the  fence  into  the  woods.  The  butchers 
saddled  their  horses  called  the  dogs,  and  gave  chase 
to  her.  After  pursuing  her  all  day,  they  finally  killed 
her,  about  dark,  several  miles  from  home,  but  so  far 
from  any  house  that  they  abandoned  the  thought  of  sav 
ing  the  meat,  and  they  returned  home  with  nothing  but 
the  hide. 

FARMING    UTENSILS. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  better  test  of  the  civilization  of 
any  people  than  can  be  seen  in  their  agricultural  imple 
ments.  I  had  long  known  that  nearly  all  the  really  val 
uable  inventions  and  discoveries  made  in  our  country 
had  their  origin  in  the  free  States.  But  the  leading  in 
terest  in  the  South  has  been,  not  mechanical,  but  agricul 
tural.  It  was  not  unnatural,  therefore,  for  the  North  to 
excel  in  this  respect.  But  since  almost  the  entire  inter- 


94  INSIDE   VIEW   OF    SLAVERY. 

est  of  the  South  is  in  farming,  I  expected  in  this  depart 
ment  to  find  some  evidences  of  skill,  and  progress.  But 
I  was  disappointed. 

The  u  nigger  hoc"  was  first  introduced  into  Virginia 
as  a  substitute  for  the  plow,  in  breaking  up  the  soil. 
The  law  fixes  its  weight  at  four  pounds,  —  as  heavy  as 
the  woodman's  axe !  It  is  still  used,  not  only  in  Vir 
ginia,  but  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas.  The  planters 
tell  us,  as  the  reason  for  its  use,  that  the  negroes  would 
break  a  Yankee  hoe  in  pieces  upon  the  first  root,  or  stone 
lhat  might  be  in  their  way.  An  instructive  commentary 
on  the  difference  between  free  and  slave  labor ! 

The  "  Cracker  plow"  has  no  part  like  the  Yankee 
plow,  below  the  beam,  except  the  left  handle.  This  is 
made  of  basket  oak,  is  about  four  inches  square,  and  a 
foot  long,  or  deep,  below  the  beam.  The  lower  end  of 
this  handle,  which  is  faced  with  a  plate  of  wrought  iron, 
half  an  inch  thick,  is  all  there  is  that  makes  it  a  plow. 
The  right  handle  is  crooked,  and  fastened  to  the  beam 
at  the  lower  end  and  to  the  left  handle,  by  a  pair  of 
rundles.  It  turns  a  furrow  only  four  inches  wide,  but 
it  is  made  to  land  about  a  foot.  It  turns  the  four  inches 
over  upon  the  other  eight,  and  thus  goes  over  the  ground 
as  fast  as  the  Yankee  plow.  The  holder  of  the  Cracker 
plow  has  little  power  over  the  beam  when  the  plow 
strikes  a  root,  or  a  stone,  as  the  base  of  the  plow  is  only 
four  inches  square.  •  Hence  when  the  plow  stops  sud 
denly  at  a  root  or  a  rock,  the  impetus  of  the  mule  jerks 
the  forward  end  of  the  beam  down,  and  "  Cuffce"  is 
thrown  up  on  the  handles.  It  is  a  laughable  sight  to  see 


SOUTHERN  AGRICULTURE.  95 

a  large  number  of  boys  and  girls  plowing  in  the  new 
fields,  where  some  of  them  are  being  constantly  tossed 
up  in  this  manner. 

The  harrow  is  seldom  used  except  in  sowing  grain, 
and  not  often  then.  It  is  easily  made,  and  more  easily 
described,  as  it  is  wholly  constructed  of  the  top  of  a  tree, 
dragged  over  the  ground  top  foremost,  having  the  limbs 
upon  the  lower  side  cut  off  to  such  a  length  that  they 
serve  as  teeth  in  the  harrow. 

The  ox  yoke  is  a  straight  stick  of  hard  pine,  square 
hewn,  about  four  inches  thick,  six  inches  wide,  and  from 
four  to  five  feet  long,  —  of  equal  size  the  whole  length. 
It  is  not  like  the  Yankee  yoke,  crooked  down  between 
the  oxen,  and  excavated  on  the  necks  —  adapted  to  sit 
easy  and  not  chafe  —  having  sufficient  strength  with  the 
least  possible  weight,  — and  so  constructed  that  the  ox 
en  can  apply  their  necks  and  shoulders  in  the  best  man 
ner  to  move  the  heaviest  load,  with  the  least  brute  force, 
and  loss  of  muscular  strength.  A  pair  of  oxen  will  draw 
twice  as  heavy  a  load  in  the  Yankee  yoke  as  in  those 
used  in  Georgia. 

One  peculiarity  in  the  Cracker's  mode  of  traveling  to 
market  alwavs  amuses  the  Yankee.  Instead  of  seating 

*>  a 

himself  in  his  wagon,  to  guide  the  horse,  the  Cracker 
rides  his  horse,  and  the  wagon  comes  along  behind,  jolt 
ing  over  roots,  and  stumps,  and  stones.  I  laughed  heart 
ily  at  seeing  a  Cracker  with  two  sore-footed  little  negro 
boys,  ail  on  one  jackass,  with  a  wagon  load  of  cabbage 
attached,  following  after. 


IX. 

YANKEE  AND  SLAVEHOLDER. 


"  Ay  !  gather  your  reins,  and  crack  your  thong, 

And  bid  your  steeds  go  faster ; 
They  do  not  know,  as  they  scramble  along, 

That  they  have  a  fool  for  a  master." 

0.  W.  HOLMES. 

THERE  are  no  bridges  over  the  large  rivers  in  Georgia, 
except  where  the  railroads  cross.  There  are  numerous 
rivers,  streams,  and  creeks  in  the  State,  but  not  sufficient 
energy  and  enterprise  to  bridge  them.  Colton,  in  his 
Gazetteer,  says,  u  there  is  water  power  enough  in  this 
State,  with  eligible  sites  for  mills,  to  manufacture  all 
the  cotton  raised  in  all  the  world,  and  grind  all  the 
grain  raised  in  the  United  States."  So  the  absence  of 
bridges  is  not  because  bridges  are  not  needed,  but  be 
cause  men  are  wanted  to  build  them. 

Large  trees  fall  down  across  stage  roads  in  the  slave 
States,  and  lie  there  for  weeks,  or  perhaps  months,  be 
cause  it  is  not  the  custom  to  remove  them.  In  many 
places  the  mail  stage  will  meet  half  a  dozen  in  a  mile, 
and  have  to  drive  out  into  the  woods  to  pass  around 
them. 

In  the  winter  of  1852,  I  traveled  a  distance  of  sixty 
miles  in  Georgia,  by  stage.  Half  the  time  was  con 
sumed  in  fording  and  swimming  creeks  and  streams, 


YANKEE   AND    SLAVEHOLDER.  \)  I 

going  around  old  trees,  and  through  bogs.  Three  days 
were  spent  in  traveling  sixty  miles.  Two  slaveholders 
were  in  the  stage,  on  their  way  from  the  city  to  their 
plantations. 

Just  before  dark;  on  the  second  day  of  our  ride,  we 
came  to  a  deep  creek  where  we  found  a  mule  team  loaded 
with  cotton,  stuck  fast  in  the  middle  of  the  creek.  A 
heavy  rain  was  falling,  and  the  water,  runniag  swiftly, 
had  worn  a  new  trench  through  the  sand  in  the  middle 
of  the  channel,  about  two  feet  deep  and  four  feet  wide. 
When  the  forward  wheels  of  Cuffee's  wagon  dropped 
into  the  trench,  his  six  mules  could  not  draw  them  out. 
The  hind  pair  of  mules  were  all  under  water,  except 
their  heads,  and  Cuffee  could  not  get  to  the  shore  him 
self  but  by  swimming,  which  was  a  very  uncomfortable 
mode  when  the  water  was  cold  and  the  current  swift. 
So  he  concluded  to  retain  his  seat  on  the  highest  bale  of 
cotton,  hoping  for  providential  aid. 

When  our  stage  arrived  at  the  creek,  the  gentlemen 
passengers  left  it  and  went  np  stream  a  few  rods,  and 
crossed  over  on  a  pine  log.  Two  ladies  remained  inside 
the  coach,  —  the  horses  swam  across,  —  the  coach  filled 
with  water,  and  one  of  the  ladies  was  nearly  drowned ! 

While  stopping  upon  the  other  side,  after  u  passing 
the  Rubicon,"  another  negro  drove  down  with  a  mule 
arid  buggy,  to  cross  the  creek.  "Billy,"  said  the  driver, 
who  was  a  white  man,  and  acquainted  with  the  slasre 
"you  can't  go  through  the  creek,  it  is  washed  out 
deeper.  You  see  how  Cuflec's  wheels  sink — you  had 
better  go  back  and  wait  till  morning." 
9 


98  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

"  I  must  go  through/'  replied  Billy,  resolutely.  "  Mas 
ter  told  me  to  go  up  to  the  academy  and  bring  young 
Master  George  home  from  school." 

And  he  drove  the  mule  into  the  creek.  When  the 
forward  wheels  of  the  buggy  dropped  into  the  new 
trench,  Billy's  mule  fell  over  on  his  side  and  broke  both 
of  the  thills.  The  whiffle-tree  bolt  was  thrown  out. 
The  mule  righted  and  swam  to  the  extent  of  the  reins, 
which  Billy  "paid  out"  to  the  end  and  the  length  of 
his  arm,  still  holding  them  firm  in  his  fist,  as  the  only 
attachment  between  the  buggy  and  mule.  The  mule 
"  struck  bottom,"  where  he  was  "  hauled  to."  Now  there 
was  Cuffee,  sitting  on  his  highest  bale  of  cotton,  in  the 
water  to  his  knees ;  and  Billy,  standing  in  his  buggy, 
with  the  water  to  his  waist. 

*'  Come,  driver,  take  off  a  span  of  horses,"  said  I, 
Yankee-like,  "  and  "help  the  poor  boys  out."  "  If  you 
want  to  go  on  with  me,  sir,  get  aboard,"  said  the  driver. 
I  pitied  the  negroes  and  the  mules,  as  it  was  now  nearly 
dark  —  the  water  and  weather  cold  — •  with  the  prospect 
of  a  dark,  cheerless,  stormy  night  before  them,  and  no 
house  within  four  miles.  But  what  could  a  lone  Yankee, 
who  had  no  horse  of  his  own,  do  for  them,  more  than 
to  pity  them?  Fortunately,  another  stage, passing  that 
way  that  night,  finding  the  creek  blockaded  with  wrecks, 
helped  Cuffee  and  Billy  out  of  their  trouble.  "We  trav 
eled  on  two  hours  longer,  but  only  four  miles  farther, 
and  reached  our  quarters  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning  we  started  "  bright  and  early."  I 
had  been  talking  freely  on  the  way  with  the  slaveholders 


YANKEE  AND    SLAVEHOLDER.  99 

about  the  "peculiar  institution/'  expressing  great  aston 
ishment  at  seeing  so  wide  a  contrast  between  the  North 
and  the  South  in  everything  relating  to  industrial  mat 
ters.  I  remarked  that  at  the  creek,  where  we  met  so 
much  trouble  the  night  previous,  there  were  noble  pine 
trees  standing  by  the  side  of  the  creek,  long  enough  to 
reach  across  —  that  two  "live  Yankees  "  would  fell  a 
pair  of  stringers  over,  and  cover  them  in  a  single  day,  — 
that  no  Northern  farmer  would  neglect  to  bridge  such  a 
stream  separating  lots  of  tillage  or  pasturage,  where  he 
wanted  to  drive  herds  from  one  to  the  other,  for  a  single 
year,  while  the  Southern  planter  will  ford  the  creek  ly 
ing  between  his  house  and  stable  a  whole  life  time. 
While  engaged  pleasantly  in  making  comparisons  of  this 
kind,  and  extorting  confessions  from  my  slaveholding 
companions  in  favor  of  the  superior  enterprise  and  in 
genuity  consequent  upon  a  free  labor  system,  we  came 
to  a  slough  in  the  road.  The  driver  leaped  from  his 
seat,  and  commenced  pulling  away  the  rail  fence  —  "  Vir 
ginia  fence  "  — where  the  ends  of  the  rails,  at  angles  of 
twenty  degrees,  lock  in  and  rest  upon  each  other. 

"  What  are  you  doing  now,  driver  ?  "  asked  an  outside 
passenger. 

"  I  am  going  through  the  oat-patch,"  replied  the  driver. 
"You  see  the  teams  have  balked  in  the  slough,  so  we 
must  either  tote  some  more  pine  boughs  and  put  into 
the  ruts,  or  go  around ;  and  I  think  here  is  a  right  smart 
chance  to  go  around." 

I  looked  out  upon  the  oat  stubble,  and  being  a  farmer's 


100  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

son,  and  acquainted  with  the  appearance  of  surface  soils 
in  the  spring  time,  when  the  waters  have  soaked  the  sub 
soil  and  made  it  soft  and  yielding,  I  saw  at  a  glance  that 
the  slough  extended  across  the  field,  and  I  had  the  Yan 
kee  impudence  to  administer  a  caution. 

"Driver,  you  can't  go  through  there  !  Don't  you  see 
it  is  soft  out  there  ?  You  are  safer  in  the  road." 

"I  am  the  driver,  sir,  if  you  please/'  was  the  caustic 
reply,  in  his  Cracker  tone  of  voice,  as  sharp  and  shrill 
as  that  of  the  overseer  when  he  calls  the  "  morning  roll," 
or  drives  the  "  sugar-house  paddle." 

"Very  well,  sir,"  said  I,  complacently.  The  fence 
opened  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  horses  shot  in. 
Their  feet  soon  began  to  settle  in  the  loam  —  the  wheels 
began  to  cut  through  the  sward  —  the  whip  began  to 
crack  —  and  the  driver  to  swear  and  scream.  The  horses 
seemed  frightened,  and  they  snorted,  and  stamped,  and 
pulled,  and  shifted  legs,  but  not  places.  The  wheels  cut 
through  the  stubble  and  sank  down  till  the  bottom  of 
the  coach  rested  on  the  ground,  and  we  were  anchored. 
Still  the  lash  fell,  and  the  horses  strove,  sinking  deeper 
and  deeper,  till  it  seemed  that  our  only  chance  would  be 
on  the  "  underground  railroad."  j 

We  "  lightened  the  ship/'  detached  the  team,  and  after 
a  terrible  shower  of  curses  on  sloughs,  and  oaths  on  the 
fates,  and  gentle  reproofs  on  the  daring  driver,  had 
fallen  from  the  eloquent,  fluent  lips  of  the  passenger 
slaveholders,  —  whose  dialect  loses  half  its  eloquence 
and  all  its  grammar  without  the  rhetorical  finish  of  the 


YANKEE   AND    SLAVEHOLDER,  101 

cursing  and  swearing,  the  practical  question,  —  "what 
shall  be  done  ?  "  was  earnestly  mooted. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  this  is  a  judgment  upon  you, 
for  not  helping  the  negroes  out  of  the  creek  last  night. 
Now,  driver,  you  will  please  leave  my  trunks  here.  I 
sec  a  house  out  there  in  the  woods,  and  I  am  going 
there  to  stop  till  the  next  stage  comes  along." 

"  Oh.  no  !  "  vociferated  the  passengers,  "  that  won't  do ! 
For  if  the  Yankee  leaves  us,  we  shall  never  get  out  of 
tins  fix." 

"  I  have  no  expectation  that  you  will,"  said  I,  "  for 
you  don't  know  how,  in  the  first  place;  and  if  you  did, 
you  would  think  it  a  disgrace  to  do  the  necessary  work. 
I  would  willingly  and  cheerfully  assist  to  get  the  coach 
back  into  the  road  again,  but  1  am  confident  that  all  your 
plans  and  efforts  will  be  fruitless ;  and  so  I  have  con 
cluded  to  make  the  best  of  the  calamity,  and  stop  over 
to-day ;  although  I  must  confess  my  regret  at  the  folly 
which  has  caused  the  delay,  as  I  am  really  desirous  of 
getting  through  to-day,  to  meet  a  friend,  by  agreement, 
on  important  business.  But  I  give  you  my  opinion 
freely,  gentlemen,  that  the  case  is  hopeless,  as  the  doc 
tors  say." 

The  driver  was  not  a  little  piqued  at  the  severe  re 
flections  my  remarks  cast  upon  him,  and  he  said  in  a 
confident,  swaggering,  contemptuous  tone,  "  I  reckon  we 
can  do  as  well  without  your  company  as  with  it,  sir." 

"Not  so,"  exclaimed  the  passengers.  "  We  want  the 
Yankee  here  to  plan.  If  he  leaves,  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  get  away  from  this  place  to-day ! "  One  asked  the 


102  INSIDE  VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

driver  to  invite  rne  to  help  them,—  others  besought  mo 
to  remain  and  assist  them.  I  replied  that  I  had  no  faith 
to  work  with  them,  and  Yankees  never  looked  on  as 
spectators  in  such  emergencies.  "  But,"  said  I,  "  if  you 
want  me  to  stay,  and  the  driver  will  consent  for  me  to 
be  '  boss '  of  the  business,  and  you  will  all  agree  to  do 
as  I  tell  you,  1  will  stay;  and  if  we  don't  get  out  in  less 
than  an  hour,  then  you  may  say  of  the  Yankee,  as  lie 
now  does  of  you,  that  he  don't  know  how  to  do  any 
thing." 

After  a  little  whisky  per  suasion,  the  driver  reluctantly 
assented  to  my  proposition. 

"  Now  understand  me," —  said  I,  "as  master  of  this 
business  —  when  I  speak  to  you,  1  shall  not  say  <  boys,1 
as  you  do  to  your  slaves ;  nor  '  gentlemen,'  as  you  are  ac 
customed  to  be  addressed ;  but  I  shall  speak  to  you 
simply  as  men.  The  *  boss,'  in  Yankeedom,  when  he 
speaks  to  the  operatives,  calls  bachelors  by  their  Chris 
tian  names,  but  married  men  by  their  surnames,  from 
respect  to  their  wives.  This  is  understood,  1  suppose." 

All  bowed  assent. 

«  Well,  then,  now  for  the  work,"  said  I.  «  Billy  ! " 
—  the  name  of  the  bachelor  driver — now  as  humble  as 
black  Billy  in  the  creek  — "take  Smith"— a  wealthy 
commission  merchant  —  "  and  go  and  bring  a  large  rail." 
"Jones  !"  a  cotton  planter  from  the  chivalrous  kingdom  of 
South  Carolina  —  "  you  run  out  to  the  house  yonder  and 
borrow  an  axe,"  "Joe  and  John  !"  you  take  the  rails  from 
the  fence  and  lay  them  down  close  between  the  stage  and 
the  yoad;  as  quick  as  you  can."  "Gllinan  !''  —  a  lawyer  — 


YANKEE   AND    SLAVEHOLDER.  103 

"roll  that  large,  short  pine  log  along  here.  Well  done, 
Billy '  you  and  Smith  have  got  a  good  pry.  Run  the 
butt  end  in  between  the  spokes  directly  over  the  hub. 
"Now  raise  the  other  end  —  higher !  Roll  your  fulcrum 
under.  Oilman!  That's  itj  pull  down,  now!  There 
she  rises  bravely!  hold  on!  Run  here,  Joe,  with  that 
rail !  Run  it  in  under  that  hub  on  the  ground, —  farther 
in !  that'll  do.  Slack  the  lever,  men  !  Now  place  the 
lower  end  of  the  lever  under  the  hub  and  bear  down 
again.  Good  !  trig  up  under,  Joe  !  Halloo  !  here's  Jones 
with  an  axe.  There  Joe,  you  run  again  and  help  John 
lay  down  rails.  Come,  Jones  !  cut  a  rail  up  into  pieces. 
Sharpen  the  ends  and  drive  them  under  the  wheels  to 
hold  them  up !  Zounds  !  what  cutting !  Yankee  boys 
four  years  old  cut  faster  than  that.  Give  me  the  axe ! 
Xo\v,  Jones,  see  a  Yankee  chop." 

One,  two,  three  clips  on  one  side;  over  —  one.  two 
heavy  blows  on  the  other,  and  a  five  inch  rail  drops  in 
two.  Smith's  attention  was  so  earnestly  fixed  on  the 
chopping,  that  he  let  go  his  hold  on  the  upper  end  of 
the  lever,  which  sprang  up  with  Billy,  who  was  sitting 
on  it  astride  —  the  lower  end,  which  was  under  the  hub 
of  the  wheel,  being  covered  with  oily,  red  clay,  slipped 
out,  and  down  came  the  lever,  crushing  Oilman's  beaver 
liat,  knocking  him  down,  tearing  the  leg  of  Billy's  trou 
sers,  and  barking  his  shin !  Oilman  scratched  his  head, 
and  Billy  rubbed  his  shin,  crying  out  as  piteously  as  ever 
black  Billy  did  after  his  had  been  kicked. 

"  What  a  piece  of  work  !  Now  the  wheel  has  dropped 
down  lower  than  it  was  in  the  first  place.  Why  didn't 


104:  INSIDE    VIEW    OJ?    SLAVERY. 

you  bold  on.  Smith  ?  If  you  don't  act  better  than  this, 
night  will  find  us  in  a  worse  pickle  here  in  the  rain  than 
we  left  the  poor  l  nippers '  in  last  night. 

"  Come,  men  !  raise  the  pry  again  !  Dash  the  fulcrum 
under !  down  pry !  block  up !  Now  under  the  hub ! 
Push  under  farther,  Billy,  so  it  won't  slip  again !  Down 
again,  all  right.  Drive  under  the  short  rails !  Eaise 
all  the  wheels  in  like  manner !  Now  we  are  ready  to 
run  her  back  into  the  road.  But  it  will  be  a  hard  lift 
to  roll  the  wheels  up  on  the  rails.  I  will  hold  the  pole, 
men !  and  you  take  hold  of  the  wheels." 

"  I  will  hold  the  pole  for  you,  sir,"  said  Billy,  politely. 

"/  ain,  driver  now,  sir,  if  you  please,"  I  replied  au 
thoritatively.  "  Take  hold  of  the  wheels  there,  with 
the  other  hands  I  " 

The  lawyer,  the  merchant,  and  the  planter  took  hold 
of  the  muddy  spokes  with  their  kid  gloves  on,  and  the 
word  was  given.  "All  ready  now !  Roll  it  up!"  But 
"  no  go  !  " 

"As  many  Yankee  boys  eight  years  old  would  lift 
more  than  you  did  then !  You  can  do  nothing  lifting  in 
that  way,  men  !  You  must  put  your  shoulder  down  to 
the  rim,  and  both  hands  to  the  spokes,  one  on  either 
side  ;  and  lift  once,  like  Yankees;  and  the  thing  is  done/' 

Smith  dashed  off  his  black  broadcloth  and  put  his 
shoulder  —  covered  with  a  clean,  nice,  linen  shirt  —  to 
the  wheel.  Jones  and  Oilman  didn't  stop  to  fling  off 
the  broadcloth,  but  seized  a  wheel  a-piece.  "  All  hold 
now  ?  "  "  Aye,  aye,  sir."  "Altogether,  then  !  There, 
she  rises!  stick  to  it !  Lift !  a  little  harder  !  most  up  ! 


YANKEE   AND    SLAVEHOLDER,  105 

For  your  life  now!  HURRAH!  the  trouble  is  all  over! 
Now  roll  back,  steady.  —  Here  we  are,  in  the  road  once 
more ! " 

"Xow  we  will  pull  the  coach  over  the  bog.  Driver  I 
you  and  Joe  take  the  team  up  around  through  the  woods, 
and  by  the  time  you  get  it  on  the  other  side  of  the  slough, 
we  will  have  the  coach  and  baggage  there,  and  the  fence 
up.  But  dear  me,  what  looking  coats  and  shirts  for 
gentlemen  to  visit  their  friends  in  !  " 

"Never  mind,"  replied  the  gentlemen,  "we  give  in 
to  the  Yankee." 

During  the  remainder  of  the  journey  we  talked  to 
gether  freely  about  slavery  and  its  consequences.  And 
I  received  many  polite  attentions  afterwards  from  those 
"chivalrous  Southerners,"  who  generously  acknowledged 
that  a  free  labor  system  best  qualifies  men  for  the  con 
tingencies  of  life. 


X. 

PRIVATE  AND  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS. 


"  Windows  and  doors  in  nameless  sculpture  dressed, 

With  order,  symmetry,  or  taste  unblessed ; 

Forms  like  some  bedlam  statuary's  dream, 

The  crazed  creation  of  misguided  whim."  BURNS. 

IN  the  cities  of  the  slave  States  there  are  not  only 
many  fine  public  buildings,  but  also  many  elegant  private 
dwelling  houses,  surrounded  with  beautiful  scenery,  and 
fitted  up  within  with  rich  and  costly  furniture.  It  is  to 
such  scenes  that  Northern  visitors  are  generally  intro-. 
duccd.  Here  they  receive  those  impressions  that  are 
so  widely  disseminated  in  the  North,  —  that  slavery  is 
usually  associated  with  refinement  of  manners,  a  culti 
vated  taste,  and  a  luxurious  style  of  living.  It  is  not 
my  purpose  to  question  the  correctness  of  these  ideas, 
so  far  as  they  refer  to  city  life  among  slaveholders. 
Nor  do  I  deny  that  occasionally  something  of  the  kind 
may  be  found  on  the  plantations,  —  though  the  instances 
are  rare.  My  object  in  this  chapter  is  to  take  the  read 
er  into  the  planting  districts  of  the  South,  among  the 
"  Crackers,"  and  show  him  their  manner  of  living,  —  the 
kind  of  houses  they  occupy  for  private  or  public  use,  —  and 
some  of  the  external  features  of  their  domestic  life. 


PRIVATE   AND    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  107 

About  fifty  thousand,  or  one  tenth  part  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  Georgia  reside  in  the  cities.  And  the  propor 
tion  does  not  vary  very  materially  in  the  other  States. 
Nine  tenths  of  the  population  are  therefore  to  be  found 
in  the  planting  districts,  —  though  only  a  small  part  of 
these  are  slaveholders.  The  "  poor  whites"  everywhere 
in  the  country  constitute  a  large  part  of  the  population. 
I  shall  not  describe  their  habits  here  so  much  as  in  some 
of  the  succeeding  chapters. 

It  will  appear  to  some  as  an  exaggerated  state 
ment,  —  and  yet  an  extensive  observation  in  several  of 
the  slave  States  convinced  me  that  more  than  one  half 
of  the  slaveholders  live  in  log  houses.  I  confess  that 
this  was  one  of  the  most  surprising  facts  that  came  to 
my  knowledge.  I  was  not  expecting  to  see  wealthy 
slaveholders  in  the  country  living  in  the  old  log  house 
first  built  for  the  family  when  they  entered  the  woods. 

One  reason  why  so  little  has  been  said  and  known  of 
their  manner  of  living  in  the  country,  doubtless  is  that 
few  Northern  men  have  traveled  extensively  there. 
And  another  is  that  many  who  have  traveled  in  the 
South,  have  misrepresented  their  condition  in  order  to 
gratify  the  feelings  and  flatter  the  pride  of  slaveholders, 
from  whom  they  have  received  kind,  generous,  and  polite 
attentions. 

A  foreigner,  whose  letters  have  been  read  with  much 
interest,  in  describing  the  furniture  in  the  house  of  a 
planter  whom  he  desired  to  natter  for  favors  he  had  re 
ceived,  represented  his  friend  as  living  in  a  large  and 
splendid  mansion,  fitted  up  AvitlTexpcn.sivc  articles  of 


108  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

furniture.  After  speaking  of  many  beautiful  and  valua 
ble  articles  about  his  room,  he  closed  with  a  description 
of  a  magnificent  candlestick  furnished  for  his  use. 

"  1  am  now  writing,"  said  Mr.  D.,  "  by  a  candlestick 
that  cost  seven  hundred  dollars"  But  he  did  not  men 
tion  of  what  precious  material  the  costly  candlestick  was 
wrought.  A  slaveholding  clergyman,  however,  who  spake 
as  knowing  the  fact,  assured  me  that  the  wonderful  can 
dlestick  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  Cuffee,  holding 
a  flambrau  !  I  have  more  than  once  written  letters  in 
slaveholders'  houses  when  I  was  less  favored  than  this 
foreigner,  —  having  to  hold  the  pitch  torch  in  my  own 
hand. 

One  reason  why  the  slaveholder  does  not  build  a  good 
house  is  because  he  knows  that  in  a  few  years  his  fields 
will  be  nearly  fruitless,  and  then  he  may  wish  to  remove, 
and  pitch  his  tent  in  the  woods  again.  Nor  do  they 
take  any  pride  in  the  possession  of  fine  houses.  The 
only  pride  of  wealth  is  in  the  possession  of  men.  When 
a  citizen  is  to  be  selected  for  some  public  office,  the 
only  question  asked  is,  "  how  many  niggers  does  he 
own  ?  "  If  a  large  number,  the  inference  is  that  he  must 
b$  a  smart  man,  and  well  qualified  for  the  office. 

The  most  common  style  of  building  in  some  of  the 
slave  States  is  to  construct  two  log  houses,  about  eight 
feet  apart,  one  story  high,  with  one  roof  running  over 
both,  connecting  them  overhead,  —  so  that  they  may  pass 
from  one  to  another  in  the  attic,  and  have  a  cool  out  of 
doors  entry  under  the  roof,  between  the  lower  rooms. 
Most  of  these  houses  are  built  of  round  pine  logs,  in 


PRIVATE   AND    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  109 

rough  style,  and  so  large  spaces  are  often  left  between 
the  logs  that  one  can  look  in  or  out,  without  windows. 
Thus  made,  they  afford  little  protection  from  the  cold 
in  winter,  —  and  the  inhabitants  of  Georgia,  during  the 
cold  stormy  days,  or  frosty  nights,  often  suffer  more  from 
cold  than  the  people  of  Maine. 

The  roof  is  usually  made  of  rafters,  having  ribs  pinned 
on  them,  about  three  feet  apart,  covered  with  shingles 
four  feet  long,  which  are  split  from  the  pine  timber  by 
the  slaves.  Sometimes  no  nails  are  used  in  putting  them 
on.  A  small  pole  is  laid  over  each  course  of  shingles, 
which  is  fastened  to  the  ribs  by  wooden  pins. 

These  houses  frequently  aro  made  without  any  iron 
for  any  purpose.  Even  the  doors  are  hung  on  wooden 
gudgeons,  driven  into  the  logs,  and  fastened  with  wood 
en  latches  and  green  hide  strings.  They  are  seldom 
shut,  however,  except  in  the  night.  No  matter  how  cold 
the  wcalhcr,  or  severe  the  storm,  the  door  remains  open 
through  the  day.  No  tool  is  needed  to  erect  abodes  for 
the  Crackers  except  the  "club-axe"  and  the  auger.  The 
Secretary  of  a  Fire  Insurance  Company  in  the  State  of 
Georgia,  —  himself  a  slaveholder,  —  stated  to  me  that 
in  his  opinion  two  thirds  of  the  residences  of  masters  in 
that  State  were  made  of  logs.  And  in  the  Carolinas 
they  are,  to  say  the  least,  not  any  more  valuable. 

The  want  of  energy  enough  to  procure  an  article  so 
cheap,  and  we  should  say  so  indispensable,  as  window- 
glass,  is  truly  astonishing  to  the  traveler  from  the  free 
States.  These  log  houses  are  often  entirely  destitute 
of  glass.  They  have  wooden  shutters  to  close  at  night. 
10 


110  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

The  eye  of  the  traveler  in  some  parts  of  the  country 
will  not  rest  on  a  house  that  has  a  pane  of  glass  in  it  in 
traveling  fifty  miles,  though  most  of  the  houses  may  be 
inhabited  by  slaveholders.  In  one  of  the  best  farming 
counties  in  Georgia  I  found  a  man  who  had  been  located 
there  a  few  years,  who  was  a  native  of  Maine.  He  in 
formed  me  that  when  he  went  to  that  town,  though  it 
was  the  shire-town  of  the  county,  there  was  not  a  single 
pane  of  window  glass  in  any  building,  —  not  even  in  the 
church,  court  house,  or  tavern. 

This  gentleman  built  for  himself  a  house  with  two 
rooms,  one  of  which  his  lady  denominated  her  parlor; 
and  she  concluded  to  have  a  window  put  into  it.  A 
carpenter  belonging  to  another  county  was  accordingly 
employed  to  come  and  put  in  four  squares  of  "  seven  by 
nine,"  for  which  he  charged  two  dollars.  "  As  soon  as 
it  was  known/'  said  the  lady,  "  that  such  a  great  curios 
ity  was  to  be  seen  in  the  place,  all  the  children  came  in 
flocks  to  see  the  glass.  And  they  really  became  so  great 
an  annoyance  to  rne  that- 1  had  the  window  taken  out, 
and  a  shutter  put  up  in  its  place." 

The  chimney  of  these  houses  is  usually  built  on  the 
outside.  Sometimes  it  is  built  entirely  cf  wood,  about 
the  size  of  common  cord  wood,  piled  up  cob-house  fash 
ion,  with  the  interstices  filled  in,  and  the  inside  daubed 
over  with  clay  mortar.  But  uniformly  the  base  of  the 
chimney  is  built  of  stones,  as  far  up  as  the  wooden  man- 
tlepiccc,  and  then  it  is  topped  out  safely  with  wood,  or 
boards,  or  oak  bark.  The  fireplace  is  large  enough  to 
take  in  "  a  mighty  big  heap"  of  lightwood,  which  super- 


PRIVATE    AND    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  Ill 

sedcs  the  necessity  of  lamps.  The  hearth  is  constructed 
of  small  flag-stones,  resting  on  loose  sand,  not  always  in 
a  neighborly  proximity  to  each  other.  The  oven  is  not 
an  appurtenance  of  the  Cracker's  chimney,  as  the  cook 
ing  is  done  in  the  kitchen,  —  which  means  in  the  negro 
huts.  These  cabins  are  not  connected  with  the  house  by 
any  building,  or  any  covering  overhead.  The  food  is 
brought  in,  and  the  dishes  are  carried  back,  at  every 
meal. 

Court-houses  constructed  of  logs  are  not  uncommon 
in  the  interior  counties.  And  though  churches  or  school* 
houses  of  any  kind  are  not  numerous,  a  large  proportion 
of  them  in  the  sparccly  settled  districts  are  made  of  logs. 
They  are  frequently  found  in  solitary  places,  —  situ 
ated  far  from  any  dwelling  house,  deep  in  the  woods, 
with  no  road  passing  by  or  leading  to  them,  except 
a  few  foot  paths  radiating  from  them  in  various  di 
rections  through  the  dark,  solemn  pine  trees,  --and  a 
carriage  track  describing  all  sorts  of  angles  around  the 
old  logs.  I  have  worshipped  in  rude  log  churches  locat 
ed  in  such  spots,  —  having  no  window  of  any  kind  —  no 
desk  or  elevation  for  the  minister,  —  nothing  to  sit  up 
on  except  a  few,  narrow,  rough  seats,  on  scantling  legs, 
without  any  backs.  And  the  preacher  sat  with  the  hear 
ers, —  and  in  any  part  of  the  house  which  best  suited 
his  convenience. 

I  am  aware  that  an  influential  Journal  has  undertaken 
to  show  from  the  tables  in  the  census  reports  of  1850 
that  in  church  accommodations,  the  South  is  superior  to 
the  North.  But  these  tables  can  be  made  to  prove  no 


112  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

such  tiling,  unless  by  distortion.  So  far  as  I  have  exam 
ined  them  they  do  not  disagree  with  the  facts  which 
came  under  my  own  observation.  The  average  value  of 
churches  in  Maine  is  over  $2,000  —  in  Massachusetts 
over  $7,000, —  and  in  the  six  New  England  States  it  is 
over  $4,000  each.  In  North  Carolina  the  average  value 
is  $500.  But  the  value  of  the  Methodist  churches  aver 
ages  only  $400,  and  the  Baptist  only  $360.  In  South 
Carolina  the  average  value  in  these  two  denominations 
is  $700.  In  Georgia  it  is  $500.  But  these  estimates  in 
clude  the  cities,  as  well  as  the  country.  If  we  look  into 
the  interior  counties  the  result  is  different.  In  Irwin 
county,  Georgia,  the  average  value  of  all  the  churches  is 
$81.  In  Ware  county  it  is  $56.  In  the  county  of  Mont 
gomery,  the  residence  of  Gov.  Troup,  an  account  of  my 
visit  to  whom  is  given  in  this  chapter,  the  value  averages 
$40.  In  the  old  county  of  Tatnall  it  is  only  $6.50 ! 
There  are  ten  Methodist  churches  reported  in  this  coun 
ty,  the  whole  of  them  valued  at  $105, —  being  $10.50 
each ! 

The  paucity  of  furniture  and  books  in  the  homes  of 
slaveholders  is  most  unaccountable.  Even  in  families 
that  possess  abundant  means  to  supply  these  wants  I 
have  frequently  seen  them  living  without  conveniences 
of  which  the  poorest  Northern  family  is  seldom  desti 
tute.  Sometimes  you  will  not  sec  furniture  amounting 
to  five  dollars  in  value  in  a  wealthy  planter's  house.  I 
have  seen  such  houses  without  a  particle  of  paint  on  the 
inside,  or  on  any  article  of  furniture.  A  few  old  oak  chairs, 
made  by  hand;  in  the  rudest  manner,  covered  with  deer 


PRIVATE    AND    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  113 

skins  or  green  hides  untanned,  —  a  hard  pine  table,  un 
pinned,  —  a  wooden  poker,  jnstead  of  shovel  and  tongs, 
in  the  rock  chimney  fire  place,  comprise  the  whole  in 
ventory.  There  is  no  closet,  nor  wardrobe.  All  the 
bedding  is  suspended  on  poles  overhead,  or  placed  on 
an  open  shelf  against  the  wall.  The  wearing  apparel 
is  hung  on  nails  or  wooden  pegs,  all  in  sight.  And 
yet  you  will  find  on  the  premises  several  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  elegant  saddles,  and  costly  rifles.  And 
perhaps  a  thousand  dollars  will  be  expended  for  jew 
elry  and  ornaments  to  adorn  the  person  and  dress  of  the 
daughter,  —  but  not  five  dollars  appropriated  for  furni 
ture  or  books. 

The  Crackers  live  almost  entirely  on  corn-bread  and 
bacon.  So  uniformly  does  the  fare  include  nothing  else, 
that  "  hog  and  hominy''  are  everywhere  descriptive 
terms  in  common  use  to  express  it.  And  this  is  the 
case  not  only  in  the  States  which  I  visited,  but  the  fol 
lowing  paragraph  from  one  of  a  series  of  letters  pub 
lished  in  the  New  York  Times,  written  by  a  gentleman 
of  acknowledged  integrity,  shows  that  in  other  parts  of 
the  South  it  is  the  same. 

"  At  Natchadoches,  Texas,  an  old  town  of  ten  thou 
sand  population,  we  inquired  at  five  stores  for  flour,  but 
ter,  and  sugar,  and  were  informed  there  was  none  of 
either  in  town.  At  Crocket,  we  inquired  at  seven  stores 
and  two  Hotels  for  these,  and  for  fresh  meat.  There 
was  none  of  cither  in  town.  Corn-bread,  with  « pork 
fry '  and  coffee,  has  been  placed  before  us  at  every 
meal,  —  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper,  —  at  every  house 


114  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

in  which  we  have  taken  any  food  during  the  three  weeks 
we  have  traveled  in  Texas." 

I  was  taken  sick  in  one  of  the  lower  counties  of 
Georgia,  and  I  feared  that  I  should  die  because  no  suit 
able  food  could  be  obtained  for  a  person  laboring  under 
gastritis.  Nothing  was  to  Be  liad  except  coarse  corn- 
bread,  and  soft,  ill-odored  bacon,  that  no  Yankee  could 
eat  even  when  well,  unless  he  was  half  starved.  Scarcely 
any  two  articles  could  be  named  more  unfavorable  to 
the  billions  diseases  of  the  climate  than  the  only  two  in 
use.  But  a  merciful  Providence,  —  in  spite  of  "hog  and 
hominy "  —  so  far  restored  me  to  health,  that  1  was 
able  to  ride  on  horseback;  and  I  started  for  Gov. 
Troup's  plantation,  on  the  Oconee  river,  twenty  miles 
above,  on  the  old  stage  road  leading  from  Darien  to 
Milledgeville, —  the  Capital  of  the  State.  I  called  at 
the  first  house  of  a  planter,  and  inquired  if  they  had 
flour  bread,  or  milk. 

"  We  have  none  of  either,"  was  the  reply. 

I  called  at  the  next  house,  where  the  outside  exhibited 
signs  of  more  wealth  and  comfort,  —  but  found  neither. 
I  asked  the  planter  if  he  had  no  cows. 

''  0  yes,  sir,"  he  replied,  "  I  have  a  great  many  cows, 
but  they  all  run  in  the  woods  in  winter ;  we  don't  feed 
them  now,  and  have  no  milk  at  this  season.  In  the 
spring  we  catch  a  few  of  the  calves  and  confine  them  in  a 
yard,  to  toll  up  their  mothers,  and  by  giving  the  calves 
just  milk  enough  to  keep  them  alive,  we  obtain  what  we 
want  to  use  in  coffee." 

I  called   at   every  white  man's   house  —  more   than 


PRIVATE   AND    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  115 

twenty  in  number  —  before  I  reached  the  residence  of 
Governor  Troup,  and  inquired  for  these  articles,  and  I 
"was  invariably  informed  that  they  had  none  of  either. 

About  two  o'clock  P.  M.  I  arrived  at  the  Governor's 
house,  and  found  him  eating  his  dinner,  in  a  log  house. 
Having  some  business  with  him,  I  was  cordially  invited 
to  sit  with  him  at  his  dinner  table.  In  addition  to  corn- 
bread  and  bacon,  he  had  some  dry  ship  bread,  and  corned 
beef.  But  instead  of  coffee,  he  had  spirits  of  all  kinds, 
of  which  he  urged  me  to  partake,  on  his  assurance  that 
that  they  were  good ;  but  when  I  gave,  in  excuse,  my 
custom,  and  my  feeble  health,  he  ordered  some  coffee  for 
me.  He  apologized  for  the  absence  of  flour  bread. 
He  said  the  freshet  had  continued  so  long  that  he  had 
been  unable  to  get  in  flour  over  the  creeks  and  rivers. 

The  upper  part  of  a  pig's  head  —  "the  minister's 
face" — was  on  the  table.  The  ears  had  not  been  cut 
off  previous  to  baking,  and  they  were  so  very  long,  and 
stood  up  so  straight,  and  wore  a  mark  so  singular,  that 
1  was  probably  eyeing  it  too  sharply  to  seem  respectful, 
when  the  old  gentleman  remarked,  facetiously,  — 

"  You  see  I  am  an  honest  man,  sir,  for  that  is  my  own 
mark  in  the  pig's  ear.'7 

The  Governor,  like  most  of  the  large  slaveholders, 
had  been  unfortunate  in  his  sons.  He  owned,  as  I  had 
been  informed,  about  a  thousand  slaves,  on  different 
plantations.  He  had  a  large  number  on  a  plantation 
twenty  miles  below,  which  I  had  visited.  His  brother, 
Colonel  Troup,  was,  as  I  was  told,  the  overseer  on  this 
plantation  for  several  years.  He  led  a  dissipated  life, 


116  INSIDE  VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

and  found  an  early  grave.  I  was  told  that  he  confessed 
to  a  minister,  a  few  days  prior  to  his  death,  that  he  had 
terrible  remorse  of  conscience  in  the  reflection  that 
many  of  his  own  children  would  be  left  as  his  brother's 
slaves. 

Governor  Troup's  eldest  son  succeeded  his  brother  as 
the  manager  of  the  lower  plantation,  where  he  lived  a  few 
years  in  dissipation,  and  died  from  its  effects.  His 
youngest,  and  now  only  son,  was  sent  to  take  the  place 
of  the  first,  and  he  followed  in  his  footsteps.  After  be 
ing  wrecked  both  in  morals  and  mind,  he  was  sent,  as  I 
heard,  to  the  Insane  Hospital,  —  and  I  suppose  he  was 
there  at  the  time  of  my  visit. 

If  the  sons  of  his  Excellency  were  as  fine  looking  as 
any  one  of  the  bright  boys  I  saw  about  his  house,  he 
surely  had  good  reason  to  lament  their  untimely  end. 
I  saw  no  young  men  on  that  river  who  appeared  so  in 
tellectual,  and  so  highly  endowed  with  natural  qualities, 
as  some  of  the  mulatto  servants  in  Governor  Troup's 
family.  They  seemed  devoted  to  his  happiness,  —  but 
I  ascertained  that  they  fully  appreciated  their  liability 
to  a  worse  fate  after  his  death,  —  as  he  was  far  advanced 
in  years,  and  his  only  heirs  were  two  maiden  daughters, 
who  would  not  be  likely  to  keep  the  slaves  together  long 
after  they  should  be  left  upon  their  hands. 

Two  of  the  whitest  boys  walked  at  my  side  as  I  rode 
to  the  gate,  about  fifty  rods  from  the  old  house,  —  and  I 
felt  so  deep  an  interest  in  their  welfare  that  I  took  the 
liberty  to  converse  with  them  in  relation  to  their  situa 
tion. 


PRIVATE    AND    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS.  117 

"You  have  an  easy  life  here,  boys/'  I  remarked. 
"You  are  lucky  to  find  a  home  so  good  as  this." 

"  0,  yes,  master/'  replied  one  of  them  sadly,  —  "but 
we  don't  know  how  soon  our  master  may  die,  and  then 
we  shall  be  sold  away,  and  our  lot  may  then  be  much 
harder." 

"  Well,  boys,  I  would  not  borrow  trouble,  but  would 
rather  be  thankful  for  so  many  blessings.  You  fare  so 
much  better  than  the  slaves  generally  do,  that  you  ought 
to  be  happy." 

"  I  know  that,  master,"  replied  one  of  them,  "  but  still 
we  cannot  help  thinking  what  we  may  have  to  suffer  by 
and  by." 

"Well,  be  good  boys,  —  don't  drink  whiskey, — take 
good  care  of  your  old  master,  —  always  do  right,  and 
you  will  be  sure  to  fare  the  better  for  it.  Good  even- 
ing!" 

"  Good  bye,  master  !  good  bye  ! " 

0,  how  my  heart  beat  for  these  noble  boys  !  How  I 
longed  to  speak  to  them  of  the  blessings  of  freedom ! 
What  multitudes,  alas  !  of  these  noble  Douglasses,  Bibbs, 
Clarks,  and  Wards  there  are  in  the  South, — sons  of  Gov 
ernors,  Judges,  and  statesmen, — dragging  out  their  weary 
lives  in  bondage  !  If  some  of  "  the  best  blood  in  Vir 
ginia"  flows  in  the  veins  of  the  slaves,  it  is  not  less  true 
of  the  other  slave  States. 


XL 

THE  PARTING  SCENE. 


"  My  God !  can  such  things  be  ? 
Hast  Thou  not  said  that  whatsoe'er  is  done 
Unto  Thy  weakest  and  Thy  humblest  one, 

Is  ever  done  to  Thee  ? 

In  that  sad  victim,  then, 
Child  of  Thy  pitying  love,  I  see  Thee  stand  — 
Once  more  the  jest-word  of  a  mocking  band, 

Bound,  sold,  and  scourged  again. 

A  heathen  hand  might  deal 
Back  on  your  heads  the  gathered  wrong  of  years, 
But  her  low,  broken  prayer,  and  nightly  tears, 

Ye  neither  heed  nor  feel" 

WHITTIEII. 

THE  cars  were  coming  down  from  the  country  to  the 
city.  I  was  sitting  by  the  window,  conversing  with  a 
wealthy,  gentlemanly  slaveholder,  when  our  train  stopped. 
Looking  out,  I  saw  a  group  of  twenty-four  slaves  near 
the  car,  —  some  of  them  crying,  —  some  weeping  silent 
ly, —  others  running  to  and  fro,  as  if  in  the  excitement 
of  incipient  mania,  or  of  approaching  delirium,  —  while 
one  sat  mute  in  despair.  The  whole  scene  was  so  wild 
and  unnatural  that  I  did  not  comprehend  it,  and  I  asked 
the  slaveholder  what  was  going  on  there. 


THE   PARTING    SCENE.  119 

(i  Nothing,  only  some  of  these  niggers  are  sold,  I  sup 
pose,  and  the  others  are  making  a  fuss  about  it,"  he 
replied,  in  a  cold,  formal  manner,  as  he  raised  up  his 
chin  and  gave  a  stoical,  stupid  look,  and  then  he  attempted 
to  resume  conversation  with  me. 

Now  had  I  been  riding  for  pleasure,  or  traveling  on 
business,  I  could  not  have  written  the  history  of  this 
family,  as  I  was  obliged  to  visit  the  place  again,  and 
spend  several  days,  to  obtain  the  facts  which  rendered 
the  scene  at  the  cars  intelligible.  The  whole  family,  in 
cluding  three  generations  of  slaves,  was  there.  This 
family  consisted  of  the  old  grand-parents,  with  their  six 
children,  and  eighteen  grand  children.  None  had  been 
lost  by  death ;  and  until  now,  none  had  been  sold ;  and 
had  I  visited  them  at  any  former  period  of  their  lives, 
and  proposed  to  offer  them  the  boon  of  freedom,  they 
would  probably  have  refused  to  accept  it,  if  by  so  doing 
they  would  have  been  compelled  to  leave  their  kind 
master,  whom  the  afflicted  grand-parents  said  they  had 
always  loved,  as  well  as  his  father  before  him,  —  uin 
whose  house  they  were  born."  But  their  young  master 
had  become  intemperate,  and  a  gambler.  After  losing 
all  his  money  in  the  game,  a  few  nights  previous,  he  had 
staked  six  slaves  —  two  boys  and  four  girls — on  a 
game  of  billiards,  and  they  were  won  by  a  New  Orleans 
gambler.  The  latter  was  putting  them  into  our  train 
of  cars  to  carry  them  to  S.,  forty  miles  below,  where 
they  were  to  be  shipped  for  his  own  city,  as  I  was  in- 
formed. 

I  first  noticed  the  old  grand-mother,  seated  near  the 


120  INSIDE   VIEW    OP    SLAVERY. 

car  —  sitting  on  a  short,  round,  pine  log,  that  had 
been  cut  off  for  shingles.  Her  emaciated  form,  curved 
spine,  and  snow  white  hair,  gave  her  the  appearance  of 
being  a  very  old  woman.  Her  head  was  bent  forward  and 
downward,  rising  and  falling  as  she  inhaled  the  slow,  full 
breath,  and  breathed  out  the  deep,  long  sigh,  followed 
by  neither  words  nor  tears.  I  likened  her  at  once  to 
an  aged  mother  in  a  sick  room,  where  a  beloved  daughter 
was  lying  upon  a  dying  bed ! 

Her  daughter  was  uttering  the  last  words  of  affection 
ate,  fond  farewell  to  that  devoted  mother,  —  but  she  did 
not  seem  to  hear  the  last  words  of  her  child.  She  was 
beyond  tears  —  as  physicians  say  —  mute  in  despair  !  Or 
in  the  thrilling  words  of  Ida  May  —  "  her  sorrow  was 
too  stern  and  crushing  for  outward  demonstration.  The 
iron  hand  of  slavery  had  seized  her  heart,  and  she 
seemed  as  if  it  were  wringing  the  last  drop  of  her  life 
blood." 

Next  in  order  was  the  grand-father,  an  old  man,  bent 
down  with  toil,  and  bowed  down  with  years,  standing 
with  the  left  hand  resting  on  a  long  staff  that  ran  above 
his  head,  and  the  right  arm  on  the  shoulder  of  one  of  his 
sons  who  was  just  to  be  removed  forever  from  his  sight. 
It  was  a  vivid,  life-like  picture  of  an  aged  father,  stand 
ing  by  the  death  bed  of  an  only,  idol  son,  on  whom  he 
had  leaned  for  support  and  comfort  in  his  old  age,  and 
upon  whom  he  had  depended  to  smooth  his  dying  pillow  ! 

A  kind  hearted  slave  girl  in  the  neighborhood  had 
taken  the  grand-children  out  a  little  way  from  the  cars, 
where  she  was  playing  vrith  them  on  the  grass  — just  as 


THE   PARTING    SCENE.  121 

I  have  seen  a  "kind  neighbor's  wife  visit  the  Louse  of  sick 
and  dyiiia;  parents  and  lake  the  children  home,  or  to  a 
remote  room,  to  sootlie  and  caress  them,  and  thus  divert 
their  attention  from  the  agonizing  parent,  and  the  death 
bed  scene. 

The  doomed  fathers  and  mothers  were  standing  with 
their  arms  around  the  necks  of  their  wives  and  hus 
bands,  from  whom  they  were  the  next  moment  to  be 
torn !  These  mothers  were,  perhaps,  to  become  the 
mothers  of  yet  more  unfortunate  children  in  New  Or 
leans.  The  wives  and  husbands  of  those  that  were 
leaving  belonged  on  other  plantations,  and  to  different 
masters,  who  had  kindly  allowed  them  to  come  and  take 
the  final  leave  of  their  bosom  companions ! 

Slaves  usually  have  wives  on  other  plantations.  If 
you  ask  the  slave  the  reason,  he  gives  you  this  answer. 
"  If  I  marry  one  of  my  master's  girls  here  at  home,  I 
may  never  be  permitted  to  leave  the  plantation  while  I 
live  ;  but  if  I  go  off  ten  or  fifteen  miles  and  take  a  wife, 
every  Saturday  night  my  master  will  let  me  go  to  see 
her,  and  pass  the  Sabbath.  In  doing  this,  I  shall  pass 
by  other  plantations,  and  become  acquainted  with  other 
slaves,  —  and  thus  thev^  w':l  ^e  a  little  novelty,  —  a  little 
more  variety  to  life."  This  is  one  very  good  reason, 
and  the  only  one,  the  slave  dare  give,  why  he  prefers  not 
to  lave  his  wife  at  home,  where  he  can  be  constantly 
present  with  her  and  his  children,  and  where  he  can 
sympathize  with  them  in  their  afflictions  and  sufferings. 

But  the  true  reason  for  this  fact,  which  has  few  excep 
tions,  is  that  the  masters  think  it  unwise  to  have  slave 
11 


122  INSIDE    VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

families  live  together,  where  they  can  witness  the  pun 
ishments  inflicted  on  each  other.  It  has  a  tendency  to 
make  them  discontented.  And  the  same  reason  induces 
the  slaves  to  conform  to  this  custom.  Their  feelings 
are  very  strong,  and  if  their  relatives  are  to  be  punished, 
they  shrink  from  the  sight.  And  besides,  they  fear  that 
if  they  should  be  present  on  such  an  occasion,  they 
might  interfere,  and  thus  expose  themselves  to  the  same 
fate.  Very  few  slaves  can  stand  by,  and  look  on  pas 
sively,  and  see  a  mother,  or  wife,  or  daughter,  or  sister, 
brutally  treated,  by  a  lawless  woman-whipper  ! 

But  the  bell  rings,  and  the  slaves  are  ordered  on 
board  the  cars.  They  break  away  from  their  wives  and 
husbands  at  the  sound  of  the  whip  —  and  start  for  the 
"nigger"  car.  One  of  them  —  whose  name  was  Friday 
—  bounded  back  and  gave  his  wife  the  "last  kiss  of  af 
fection."  Then  the  husband  was  pushed  on  board,  and 
the  wife  was  left!  Friday's  wife  had  a  present  tied  up 
in  an  old  cotton  -handkerchief,  which  she  designed  to 
give  her  husband  as  the  last  token  of  her  love  for  him. 
But  in  the  more  than  mortal  agony  of  parting  she  had 
forgotten  the  present  until  the  cars  had  started ,  and 
then  she  ran  —  screaming — as  she  tossed  the  bundle 
towards  the  car,  «  Oh,  here  Friday !  I  meant  to  give 
you  this  ! ''  But  instead  of  reaching  the  car,  it  fell  to 
the  ground  through  the  space  between  the  cars,  and  such 
a  shriek  as  that  woman  gave,  when  she  saw  that  solitary 
emblem  of  the  fidelity  of  her  early  vow  and  constant 
affection  for  her  devoted  husband  fail  to  reach  him.  I 
never  heard  uttered  by  human  voice.  It  thrilled  my 


THE   PARTING    SCENE.  123 

soul,  leaving  impressions  that  will  never  be  effaced  till 
my  dying  clay.  Her  heart  was  breaking  !  She  could  no 
longer  suppress  her  grief,  and  for  some  distance  after 
the  cars  started,  the  air  was  rent  with  her  bitter  lament 
ations,  bursting  forth  with  the  most  frantic  wails  ever 
uttered  in  despair ! 

There  were  thirty -five  passengers  in  that  car,  but  no 
sympathy  was  expressed  for  the  wretched  victims  of  the 
billiard  table.  Young  ladies  —  daughters  of  slavehold 
ers,  well  educated,  connected  with  refined  families  — 
were  in  that  car,  but  they  did  not  seem  to  pity  the  poor, 
despairing  slaves.  They  laughed  at  them,  and  ridiculed 
their  expressions  of  grief.  "  Look  out  here  ! "  said  one  of 
the  young  ladies  at  a  window,  to  a  school  mate  opposite, 
"just  see  those  niggers  !  What  a  rumpus  they  are  mak 
ing  !  J  List  as  if  niggers  cared  anything  about  their  babies ! 
See  Cuffee  kiss  Dinah  !  What  a  taking  on !  Likely  as 
not  he  will  have  another  wife  before  another  week." 

These  ladies  were  returning  from  one  of  the  female 
colleges  in  the  interior,  to  their  homes  in  the  city.  But 
sympathy  for  the  slave  is  not  taught  in  those  colleges. 
1  felt  indignant,  and  so  much  did  I  pity  the  slaves,  and 
so  highly  were  my  feelings  wrought  up,  that  I  would 
have  sacrificed  my  life,  if  that  would  have  prevented  the 
separation  of  those  husbands  and  wives,  and  parents 
and  children.  I  had  remained  silent  for  some  time  after 
the  cars  started,  when  the  slaveholder  said  to  me, — 
"  What  are  you  thinking  about  ?  —  those  niggers  ?  " 

"I  will  thank  you  not  to  refer  to  that  scene,"  I  replied 


124  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

"  lest  I  may  say  something  that  will  endanger  my  own 
liberty." 

"0  well/''  remarked  the  Major,  seriously,  "they  don't 
separate  families  when  they  can  help  it." 

"  Where  are  the  children  belonging  to  all  the  parents 
I  saw  in  the  droves  recently  ?  " 

11  0, 1  know/3  replied  he,  thoughtfully,  ''they  have  to 
sell  sometimes,  —  but  I  tell  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  kind 
masters  always  avoid  it  as  long  as  possible." 

"  Yes  sir,"  I  rejoined,  sternly, l- 1  understand  now  how 
you  try  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  tearing  the  parents 
from  the  children  —  you  ask  for  more  territory  to  plant 
new  fields  in !  Now  sir,  I  will  be  most  obliged  if  you 
will  not  mention  this  subject  again,  lest  I  might  drop  a 
word  that  you  would  deem  incendiary" 

We  performed  the  remainder  of  the  journey  in  silence. 
I  could  not  safely  have  given  utterance  to  my  feelings. 


XII. 

SLAVEHOLDERS  AS  BUSINESS  MEN. 


"  These  base  mechanics  never  keep  their  word 

In  anything  they  promise.     'T  is  their  trade 

To  swear  and  break ;  —  they  ail  grow  rich  by  breaking 

More  than  their  words  ;  —  their  honesties  and  credits 

Are  still  the  first  commodities  they  pass  ofLK 

BEX  Joxsox. 

THAT  slavery  has  had  a  disastrous  influence  upon 
business,  and  consequently  upon  business  men,  no  one 
can  deny.  No  fact  has  ever  been  more  clearly  demon 
strated  than  that  slave  labor  does  not  earn  enough  to 
pay  its  cost.  Impoverishment  and  insolvency  are  inher 
ent  elements  of  it.  And  whenever  we  have  had  a  gen 
eral  bankrupt  law,  the  tables  of  mutual  losses  by  bank 
ruptcy,  as  between  the  North  and  the  South,  have  shown 
a  ruinous  balance  against  the  latter. 

I  do  not  deny  but  that  there  are  many  excellent  bus 
iness  men  in  the  South.  It  was  my  privilege  to  become 
acquainted  with  such.  Many  of  these  went  from  the 
North  —  but  not  all  of  them.  And  yet  a  regard  for  the 
truth  compels  me  to  say  that  the  standard  of  business 
morality  in  the  slave  States  is  very  far  below  what  it  is 
in  New  England.  Business  men  are  guilty  of  practices, 


126  INSIDE   VIEW   OP   SLAVERY. 

•without  losing  reputation  or  credit;  which  in  the  free 
States  would  prove  their  ruin. 

As  Georgia  is  a  planting  State,  so  the  law  relating  to 
contracts  is  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  planter.  The 
statute  of  frauds  is  common  to  most,  if  not  all  of  the 
States.  And  yet  in  New  England  no  man  would  retain 
the  confidence  of  the  community  who  should  refuse  to 
deliver  articles  sold  by  a  verbal  contract  merely  because 
the  law  would  not  enforce  it  unless  it  was  written.  The 
statute  in  Georgia  requires  all  such  contracts  to  be  in 
writing,  signed,  and  witnessed,  —  and  five  dollars  to  be 
advanced  by  the  purchaser.  But  even  after  the  stipula 
tions  of  this  law  are  complied  with,  where  the  party  is 
not  responsible,  so  that  no  redress  can  be  had  through 
the  courts,  written  obligations  are  frequently  violated 
by  the  lawless  Cracker.  He  will  sell  his  corn  for  a  cent 
more  per  bushel,  or  his  cotton  for  a  mill  more  per  pound, 
to  any  man  who  makes  the  bid  after  the  article  arrives 
in  the  market.  So  common  has  this  perfidious  practice 
become,  that,  in  some  of  the  cities  the  merchants  do  not 
send  out  their  agents,  but  wait  until  the  articles  are 
brought  to  market,  when,  by  bidding  higher  than  the 
price  at  which  they  had  been  previously  sold,  they  are 
sure  to  obtain  them. 

While  traveling  in  the  country,  I  purchased  two  rafts 
of  lumber  on  a  river,  to  be  delivered  in  port  within  a 
specified  time,  at  a  stipulated  price.  One  of  these  rafts 
contained  a  hundred  thousand  feet  of  ship  timber,  square 
hewn,  and  it  was  purchased  of  a  county  commissioner, 
who  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most 


SLAVEHOLDERS    AS    BUSINESS   MEN.  127 

substantial  men  in  the  country.  I  went  to  the  port  to 
avruit  the  rafting  down  of  the  timber.  Previous  to  its 
arrival,  a  merchant  in  that  city  showed  me  a  written  ob 
ligation,  which  the  same  man  had  written  with  his  own 
hand,  by  which  he  promised  to  deliver  that  same  lumber 
to  him  for  less  than  I  had  offered  him  for  it.  When  he 
came  with  the  timber  I  said  to  him  that  I  was  ready  to 
take  it,  if  he  was  under  no  obligation  to  deliver  it  to  any 
other  man.  He  said  he  was  not.  I  then  informed  him 
that  I  had  seen  his  written  contract,  and  I  consented  that 
he  should  deliver  it  according  to  his  first  promise.  He 
went  out,  —  but  instead  of  fulfilling  the  first  contract,  he 
found  a  purchaser  who  offered  more  than  I  was  to  pay 
him,  and  he  sold  it  to  him. 

I  purchased  a  thousand  bushels  of  corn  of  E.  P.  Hoi 
st  cm,  in  Eastern  Tennesee.  Mr.  H.  wrote  the  obliga 
tion,  and  signed  it,  promising  to  deliver  the  corn  to  my 
employers  at  Savannah,  within  four  weeks,  at  fifty  cents 
per  bushel.  I  waited  until  1  suspected  that  he  might  fail 
to  fulfill  the  contract,  and  I  then  wrote  to  him  twice,  re 
questing  him  to  inform  me  why  the  corn  had  not  been 
delivered.  Xo  answers  were  returned  to  my  inquiries ; 
but  soon  afterwards  I  learned  that  Mr.  H.  had  been  to 
the  city  of  S.,  and  had  sold  his  corn  for  two  cents  more 
per  bushel  than  I  was  to  pay  him.. 

I  inquired  of  one  of  my  employers,  who  was  a  native 
Georgian,  —  and  a  son  of  a  slaveholder,  —  why  it  was 
that  so  little  reliance  could  be  placed  upon  the  integrity 
of  the  Crackers. 

"  I  know  not,"  replied  the  merchant,  "  except  that  it  is 


128  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

the  habit  of  the  people.  Any  man  will  promise  you  any 
thing  you  want,  and  engage  to  do  any  tiling  you  desire, 
without  the  least  intention  of  fulfilling  his  word,  unless 
it  should  be  for  his  own  private  interest  to  do  so." 

"  A  friend  of  mine/'  he  added,  "  who  was  intending  to 
go  into  the  cotton  business  here  as  a  commission  mer 
chant,  went  out  into  the  back  part  of  Georgia,  and  a  part 
of  Alabama,  and  obtained  pledges  from  cotton  planters 
to  send  him  eight  or  ten  thousand  bales  of  cotton.  He 
came  back  much  elated  at  his  prospects  for  business, 
hired  a  store  —  went  into  it,  and  bat  down  to  await  the 
promised  consignment.  But  not  a  single  bale  of  the 
whole  amount  was  ever  sent  to  him." 

I  have  written  many  obligations  for  the  delivery  of 
cotton  and  hides,  not  only  by  the  Crackers,  but  by  mer 
chants  in  cities,  situated  in  the  interior,  which  were  for 
feited  under  similar  circumstances.  And  I  now  have  a 
letter  from  a  friend  —  a  commission  merchant  in  one  of 
the  old  slave  States  —  in.  which  he  writes  to  me  that  he 
went  into  the  country  last  season  and  purchased  twenty- 
five  thousand  pounds  of  wool,  and  that,  in  every  purchase, 
he  paid  five  dollars,  and  secured  the  legal,  written  obli 
gation.  But  after  all  his  precaution  he  lost  more  than 
two  thousand  pounds  of  the  wool. 

I  wrote  to  another  friend  —  a  slaveholder  —  residing 
in  the  country,  expressing  my  surprise  at  the  general 
want  of  integrity  in  the  business  men  I  had  met  with, 
and  telling  him  of  my  disappointments  and  losses  occa 
sioned  by  their  faithlessness.  In  his  reply,  he  states, 
"  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  at  your  disappointments.  I 


SLAVEHOLDERS   AS   BUSINESS   MEN.  129 

have  been  here  nine  years  to-day,  and  am  just  fairly  in 
itiated  in  taking  lessons  about  the  reliability  of  this 
people.  It  is  perfectly  agonizing  to  be  obliged  to  carry 
on  business  with  the  laboring  classes  in  this  country. 
My  lessons  have  cost  me  at  least  four  thousand  dollars 
within,  the  last  four  years,  —  which  is  tolerably  high 
tuition." 

One  great  reason  why  business  contracts  are  not  more 
promptly  fulfilled,  is  probably  the  fact  that  slaveholders 
spend  so  much  of  their  time  in  amusements.  These, 
more  than  productive  labor,  constitute  the  chief  employ 
ment  of  that  class, —  especially  in  the  new  fields,  where 
the  fertile  lands  afford  them  the  means  of  idleness  and 
dissipation.  No  business  is  so  important  at  any  time 
as  to  prevent  them  from  attending  the  horse  race,  the 
cock-fight,  or  any  other  kind  of  sport. 

1  am  acquainted  with  a  clergyman  who  took  a  machine 
to  a  blacksmith  in  Ins  parish,  for  repairs.  While  the 
smith  was  at  work,  a  shout  was  heard  over  a  cock-fight 
on  the  outside,  and  he  left  Ins  iron  in  the  fire,  and  ran 
out  to  see  how  the  game  was  going.  When  he  returned, 
the  minister  remarked  that  he  was  in  a  hurry  for  the  work, 
to  send  away  by  the  next  train.  Soon  the  shout  was 
heard  again,  and  the  smith  left  the  job  a  second  time, 
and  was  gone  until  the  cars  had  left.  In  his  absence, 
his  little  son  came  into  the  shop,  and  took  up  some 
pieces  of  wood  belonging  to  the  machine. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  those,  Johnny  ?  " 
said  the  minister. 


130  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

"  I  am  going  to  take  them  in  for  my  mother  to  burn," 
replied  the  boy. 

"  0  no,"  said  the  clergyman,  « they  are  parts  of  my 
little  wheel  here." 

But  the  boy,  unused  to  any  restraint,  started  for  the 
house  with  the  pieces.  The  clergyman  caught  him  by 
the  arm,  and  shook  him  until  he  dropped  them,  when  he 
ran  to  his  mother,  screaming,  and  crying  out  against  "  the 
man  who  had  pinched  him."  The  mother  carried  the 
complaint  to  the  father,  who  returned  to  the  shop,  and 
without  asking  any  questions,  knocked  the  minister 
down. 

As  soon  as  the  clergyman  recovered  from  the  blow, 
he  said,  submissively,  "  I  wish  you  had  waited  for  an  ex 
planation,  sir." 

"  I  don't  want  to  hear  any  explanation  from  you,"  said 
the  smith,  with  a  horrid  oath.  "  I  can  flog  my  own  boys." 

The  clergyman  left  the  shop,  with  no  prospect  of  ob 
taining  the  machine  before  another  day. 

When  you  complain  of  a  slaveholder  for  not  having  a 
job  finished  at  the  time  agreed  upon,  he  refers  you,  com 
placently,  to  the  time  unexpectedly  spent  in  amusements. 
A  fox  party  came  along,  and  he  had  to  join  that,  —  or 
the  military  paraded,  which  every  body  must  see.  I  was 
employed  to  superintend  the  building  of  a  mill,  and 
fourteen  hands  were  engaged  six  days  in  raising  it,  after 
it  was  framed.  The  dimensions  of  the  building  were 
only  40  by  70  feet,  and  the  same  number  of  hands  at 
the  North  would  have  raised  it  in  half  a  day ;  but  the 


SLAVEHOLDERS   AS   BUSINESS   MEN.  131 

master  workman  took  two  of  the  hands  and  went  off 
fishing  a  part  of  two  days.  The  crew  rested  while  they 
were  absent.  A  squirrel  ran  by  one  day,  and  all  the 
men  left  the  mill,  and  chased  him  half  a  mile  before  they 
treed  him.  In  this  way  was  much  of  the  time  spent. 
Some  of  the  owners  of  the  property  were  on  the  ground, 
but  I  heard  no  complaint. 

I  attended  the  examination  of  an  academy  in  Georgia. 
While  a  class  of  young  ladies  were  reciting  in  English 
Grammar,  two  horses  came  up  to  the  door,  with  a  young 
gentleman  on  one,  and  a  side-saddle  on  the  other.  The 
gallant  dismounted,  opened  the  door,  and,  bowing  po 
litely,  solicited  the  company  of  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  J. 
to  ride,  at  her  mother's  request.  Miss  J.  left  her  reci 
tation  class,  without  asking  permission  of  the  teacher, 
and  went  to  ride.  Teachers  at  the  South  uniformly  say 
that  it  is  impossible  to  confine  the  boys  to  school  so 
constantly  as  to  teach  them  any  solid  branch  thoroughly 
because  the  parents  allow  them  to  leave  school  at  any 
time  to  enjoy  amusements,  which  are  so  frequent  that 
they  occasion  almost  daily  interruption  of  their  studies. 

If  you  charge  a  slaveholder  with  want  of  honor  when 
he  violates  a  promise,  without  any  excuse,  he  retires 
behind  the  dignity  of  his  fatal  weapon,  to  shield  his  con 
duct.  I  asked  the  keeper  of  a  hotel  if  he  would  furnish 
me  with  a  conveyance  to  a  county-seat,  twenty-five  miles 
distant,  the  next  Monday  morning,  and  he  agreed  to 
furnish  me  a  team,  and  a  boy  to  drive.  As  I  had  been 
frequently  disappointed  by  this  class  of  Southerners,  I 
remarked  to  him;  —  "  it  is  now  Saturday,  and  I  do  not 


132  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

ride  on  the  Sabbath.  I  therefore  want  you  to  be  posi 
tive,  sir ;  for  if  you  cannot  insure  me  a  conveyance  early 
Monday  morning,  I  must  go  on  farther  to-night,  as  my 
business  is  urgent." 

"You  may  rest  easy,  sir,"  said  he,  "you  shall  have 
the  team  Monday  morning." 

I  saw  his  horse  and  buggy  start  off  the  next  day,  but 
I  supposed  they  would  return  in  season  for  my  service. 
I  waited  patiently,  therefore,  until  after  breakfast  on 
Monday,  and  then  I  said  to  the  host,  "  I  am  now  ready 
to  be  off  with  your  team,  sir." 

"Well,  father  sent  for  my  carriage  yesterday,"  he  re 
marked,  carelessly,  "  and  I  had  to  let  him  have  it." 

"  How  is  this  ?  "  said  L  impetuously.  "  I  thought  there 
was  a  fair  agreement  between  us,  that  you  should  furnish 
me  with  a  team  this  morning  to  pro  to  the  city  of  D., — 
and  I  told  you  distinctly  that  I  had  business  to  transact 
there  to-day  which  could  not  be  delayed  ?  " 

"  I  admit  that,"  replied  the  landlord,  indifferently,  "but 
when  my  father  sends  after  my  horse  and  buggy,  of 
course  I  have  to  let  him  take  it," 

"  Indeed !  And  do  you  think  this  is  treating  a  stranger 
fairly  and  honorably  ?  "  said  I. 

"Why,  you  talk  to  me  like  I  was  a  nigger,  sir,"  said 
he,  defiantly,  springing  to  his  feet  and  raising  a  hand  to 
his  pistol  Being  a  peace  man,  and  having  no  weapon 
but  a  penknife,  I  did  not  utter  another  word  of  com 
plaint.  Saucy  Yankees  have  to  be  very  civil  in  the 
South,  under  such  provocations. 

The  loose  manner  in  which  the  public  records  are  kept, 


SLAVEHOLDERS    AS    BUSINESS    MEN.  133 

whether  they  refer  to  titles  of  lands,  or  private  contracts, 
is  a  great  annoyance  to  persons  who  have  legal  rights  to 
maintain,  and  are  depending  upon  them. 

A  neighbor  of  mine  in  New  England  had  a  son  who 
resided  several  years  in  the  flourishing  city  of  Albany, 
in  South  Western  Georgia,  —  but  he  was  taken  sick,  and 
he  died  there.  Soon  after  his  decease,  a  merchant  by 
the  name  of  H.  wrote  to  his  father,  stating  that  his  son, 
who  had  died  much  lamented,  had  accumulated  some 
property,  and  among  his  papers  were  found  deeds  of 
two  lots  of  land  in  that  city,  besides  other  descriptions 
of  property. 

While  I  was  in  Georgia,  the  father  sent  me  a  power 
of  attorney  to  settle  the  estate  of  his  son.  I  inquired 
for  the  merchant  who  wrote  the  letter,  and  was  informed 
that  he  was  not  living.  But  1  found  a  brother  of  Mr. 
H.,  a  former  partner  in  trade,  and  inquired  of  him 
where  those  lots  were  located.  He  replied,  that  he  was 
not  aware  that  Mr.  Yarncy  —  the  name  of  my  neigh 
bor  —  owned  any  land  there.  I  told  him  that  his  brother 
had  so  written  to  Mr.  Y.'s  father,  and  I  showed  him  the 
letter. 

il  My  brother  never  wrote  that  letter,"  said  Mr.  PI., 
"for  he  couldn't  write  his  name." 

I  made  extensive  inquiries  of  business  men  residing 
there  for  information  relating  to  Yarney's  property,  but 
no  one  professed  to  know  anything  about  it.  I  then  re 
paired  to  the  county  seat,  to  examine  the  registry  of 
deeds.  But  the  name  of  Yarney  was  not  upon  the  rec- 
12 


134  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

ords.  I  showed  the  letter  to  the  recorder,  and  inquired 
what  it  meant. 

"  No  doubt  as  it  reads,"  was  the  reply.  "  But  deeds 
are  not  always  recorded  here,"  lie  added,  "  as  they  are 
at  the  North.  The  State  —  for  instance  —  when  she 
sells  her  public  lands  to  individuals,  gives  deeds  to  A., 
B.,  and  C.,  and  those  deeds  are  recorded  here.  But 
when  A.,  B.,  and  C.,  transfer  their  titles  to  D.,  E.,  and 
F.,  they  do  not  make  new  deeds. — but  simply  write 
their  names  on  the  backs  of  the  original  deeds,  thus  en 
dorsing  them  as  you  do  notes,  and  then  pass  them  to  the 
hands  of  the  new  owners." 

in  this  manner  are  the  titles  transferred  many  times 
in  succession,  and  many  valuable  estates  pass  by  no  bet 
ter  evidence  of  sale.  Having  learned  these  facts,  I  re 
turned  to  the  city  and  employed  the  ablest  lawyer  I 
could  find  to  assist  me.  But  after  a  thorough  investiga 
tion,  he  said  to  me,  —  "I  have  no  doubt  there  is  foul 
play  in  this  matter.  Your  deeds  have  been  passed 
around  through  the  hands  of  men  who  are  determined 
to  swindle  your  client ;  and  I  firmly  believe  that  if  you 
should  find  the  lots,  and  should  undertake  to  dispossess 
the  present  occupants,  and  claimants,  they  would  shoot 
you." 

Those  lots  are  worth  three  thousand  dollars,  at  least, 
situated  any  where  in  the  vicinity,  —  but  they  could  only 
be  recovered  at  the  risk  of  life.  And  I  was  obliged  to 
report  to  my  employer  that  the  property  of  his  son 
could  not  be  recovered,  and  that  any  further  attempt 
would  be  useless. 


XIII. 

SOUTHERN  SPORTS. 


"Then  was  all  jollity, 

Feasting  and  mirth,  light  wantonness  and  Laughter, 
Piping  and  playing,  minstrelsies  and  masking, 
Till  life  fled  from  them  like  an  idle  dream." 

RO\VE. 

THE  slave  States  are  proverbial  for  their  amusements. 
The  families  of  wealthy  slaveholders  are  seldom  taught 
to  labor,  or  to  engage  in  any  kind  of  business.  Life  is 
to  them  but  a  play-day,  and  the  question  of  every  morn 
ing  is  —  how  to  kill  time  ?  It  hangs  like  a  dead  weight 
upon  their  hands.  An  old  proverb  says  — "  an  idle 
brain  is  the  devil's  workshop."  And  the  most  prolific 
source  of  the  drunkenness,  licentiousness,  and  crime, 
which  abound  in  the  South,  is  in  the  idleness  of  the 
slavcholding  class.  Young  men  and  young  women  have 
nothing  to  do,  —  and  the  theater,  the  billiard  table,  the 
drinking  saloon,  the  horse  race,  the  cock  fight,  are  but 
so  many  ways  devised  to  banish  ennui,  and  prevent 
life  from  being  a  burden. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  amusements  in  some  parts 
of  the  South  is  "  Gander  pulling"  Two  important 
branches  of  education  in  the  "  Peculiar  Institution  "  — 


136  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

gambling  and  fighting  —  are  rapidly  advanced  in  connec 
tion  with  this  amusement.  More  solid,  personal  instruc 
tion  is  often  practically  demonstrated  to  students  in 
these  sciences;  at  a  single  exhibition,  than  is  obtained  by 
a  whole  college  course  in  New  England.  And  these 
branches  of  education  partake  so  much  of  the  graceful, 
ornamental,  and  indispensably  useful  learning  in  the  po 
lite,  chivalrous  South,  that  the  "  Gander-pulling''  is 
patronized  by  all  who  walk  in  the  fashionable  circles. 

I  was  at  Milledgeville,  the  capital  of  Georgia.  It  is 
not  a  city  of  any  great  note,  though  it  contains  some 
fine  residences.  It  is  situated  on  the  Oconce  river, 
which  below  this  point  was  once  navigated  by  small 
steamers.  The  population  is  about  3000,  and  the  inhab 
itants  would  consider  it  slanderous  if  1  should  say  that 
any  more  polished  or  refined  could  be  found  in  the 
Southern  States. 

Walking  in  the  suburbs,  I  saw,  nailed  to  the  pine 
trees,  large  notices  of  the  time  and  place  for  a  Gander- 
pulling;  and  circumstances  favored  my  desire  to  witness 
it.  Word  had  gone  into  the  country,  and  out  among  the 
Crackers,  far  and  near.  At  the  appointed  time,  rude 
whisky  tents,  and  festive  seats,  and  shades,  were  pre 
pared  around  the  "pulling  course;"  and  thousands  of 
spectators  —  ladies  as  well  as  gentlemen,  the  elite  as 
well  as  the  vulgar —  assembled  to  engage  in  or  witness 
the  favorite  sport. 

The  gander  —  a  noble  specimen  of  the  wild  goose 
species  —  captured  for  the  occasion  —  had  a  very  long 
neck,  which  was  large  as  it  rose  above  the  breast,  but 


SOUTHERN    SPORTS.  137 

tapered  gradually  for  more  than  half  the  Iength7  uiitil  it 
became  small  and  serpent-form,  terminating  in  a  long, 
slim  hcad;  and  peaked  bill.  The  head  and  neck  were 
lubricated  with  oil.  The  legs  were  tied  together  by  a 
small  cord,  and  the  gander  was  then  raised  by  the  cord 
about  ten  feet  from  the  earth,  and  suspended  from  the 
limb  of  a  tree.  In  this  position,  he  was  for  a  long  time 
the  hero,  but  at  last  the  victim  of  the  sport. 

Tickets  were  issued  by  the  proprietor  of  the  gander, 
at  fiAy  cents  each,  to  all  gentlemen  present  who  wished 
for  them,  and  they  entered  their  names  as  "pullers" 
The  pullers  were  to  start  about  ten  rods  from  the  gan 
der,  on  horseback,  riding  at  full  speed,  and  as  they 
passed  along  under %thc  gander,  they  had  the  privilege  of 
pulling  off  his  head  —  which  would  entitle  them  to  the  ad 
ditional  privilege  of  eating  him.  A  "  nigger,"  with  a  long 
whip  in  hand,  was  stationed  on  a  stump,  about  two  rods 
fro  in  die  gander,  with  orders  to  strike  the  horse  of  the 
puller  as  he  passed  by. 

Now  it  will  be  recollected  that  fifty  cents  was  a  fair 
price  for  the  gander  after  he  was  killed,  and  picked,  and 
ready  for  the  cook.  So  that  the  owner  could  well  afford 
to  sell  a  single  chance  to  pull  off  the  head  for  the  fall 
value  of  the  fowl.  Still,  "  pullers"  were  plenty. 

One  entered  the  list  —  a  "  gentleman  of  property  and 
standing"  —  and  dashed  over  the  course.  The  poor 
old  gander —  seeming  quite  resigned  to  his  fate,  or  not 
comprehending  his  danger,  and  not  knowing-  how  to 
l'dodge" — had  his  neck  seized  by  the  first  rider;  but 
"being  well  oiled,  and  his  head  so  small,  and  his  strength 


138  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

not  yet  exhausted;  he  slipped  his  head  through  the  pull 
er's  hand  without  suffering  much  from  the  twist.  But 
he  drew  up  his  head  —  as  he  saw  the  next  puller  coming 
—  looking  wise  and  shrewd,  as  much  as  to  say  —  ayou 
won't  catch  this  bird  napping  again  !  "  Still,  unskilled 
in  dodging,  the  gander's  head  was  caught  again,  —  but 
he  pulled  it  out  a  second  time,  after  a  terrible  wrench. 
After  this  he  kept  a  sharp  look  out,  and  many  pullers 
passed  by  without  being  able  to  grapple  his  neck.  The 
game  went  on,  and  the  pullers  increased,  till  the  jaded 
gander  could  elude  their  grasp  no  longer.  An  old 
Cracker  —  with  a  sandpaper  glove  on  —  pulled  off  his 
head  at  last,  amid  the  shouts  of  a  wondering  host  of  in 
toxicated  competitors. 

This  may  be  called  the  introductory  exercise.  The 
whisky  kegs  on  the  stumps  —  the  gaming  tables  under 
the  shades  —  the  cock-fights  in  the  pens  —  the  horse 
race  out  in  the  woods  —  will  amuse  the  crowd  to-morrow. 
And  the  fox-chase,  and  perhaps  a  nigger-hunt,  will  close 
the  festivities. 

In  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  a  luckless  youth, 
who  had  lost  his  purse  at  billiards,  brought  the  winner 
up  before  Judge  W.  for  gambling.  The  Judge  said  that 
so  many  prosecutions  for  graver  offences  were  already 
entered  for  trial  before  him,  that  he  must  put  over  that 
case  till  the  next  morning.  That  evening  the  Judge, 
dressed  in  disguise,  passed  through  the  gambling  saloons, 
and  swept  the  stakes,  pocketing  all  the  money  in  the 
crowd.  The  next  morning  he  advised  the  unfortunate 
complainant  to  dismiss  his  complaint  against  the  person 


SOUTHERN   SPORTS.  139 

charged  with  gambling,  as  he  had  an  assurance  that  there 
would  be  no  more  offences  of  the  kind ;  and  therefore 
he  thought  it  best  to  stop  without  farther  proceedings. 

That  night,  at  two  o'clock,  the  landlord  came  to  my 
door  and  rapped,  saying  that  his  house  was  full,  and  a 
gentleman  who  had  often  stopped  there  had  called  to 
lodge  j  but  his  beds  were  all  taken  up,  and  he  desired 
that  I  would  allow  his  old  friend  to  take  lodgings  with 
me  in  my  bed,  as  otherwise  he  would  be  under  the  un 
pleasant  necessity  of  turning  him  off. 

"  If  you  know  him  to  be  in  reality  a  gentleman,  sir," 
said  I,  "  I  will  consent,  from  a  regard  to  your  wishes  and 
feelings,  that  he  may  share  the  bed  with  me  to-night, 
hoping  that  the  favor  will  not  be  solicited  of  me  again 
while  I  remain  at  your  house." 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  added  Mr,  J,  "You  may  be  as 
sured,  sir,  that  I  would  not  ask  you  to  take  in  a  com 
panion,  if  I  were  not  well  acquainted  with  him,  and  did 
not  know  him  in  every  respect  to  be  an  honorable  gen 
tleman." 

'•  Very  well,  sir,"  said  I,  "you  may  invite  him  up  here 
on  your  own  certificate." 

I  unbolted  the  door,  and  the  stranger  walked  in  with 
a  very  graceful  bow,  and  a  bland  "  good  evening,  sir." 

"  Good  morning,  sir,"  said  I. 

"It  is  too  early  yet  for  me  to  say  morning"  he  re 
plied,  "  as  I  usually  make  later  evenings  than  this." 

I  remained  silent  after  this  remark  while  my  chum 
threw  off  his  dress,  from  which  he  detached  a  bowie 
knife  and  pistols,  —  laying  the  knife  and  one  pair  of  the 


140  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

pistols  on  the  table,  and  placing  another  pair  under  his 
pillow.  I  shuddered  —  having  never  slept  with  pistols  — 
but  I  composed  my  nerves  with  the  landlord's  assurance 
of  a  favorable  acquaintance,  and  the  historical  fact  that 
Southern  "gentlemen"  sleep  with  pistols.  The  light 
was  extinguished,  and  the  stranger  laid  himself  down  at 
my  side.  At  once  he  asked  several  familiar  questions, 
inquiring  where  was  my  residence,  and  what  was  my 
occupation,  &c., —  to  which  full  and  explicit  answers 
were  given;  and  to  be  as  polite  in  return,  I  inquired 
what  his  profession  was,  —  inferring  from  his  style  of 
expression  that  he  was  a  literary  gentleman,  who  was 
probably  well  read  in  some  one  of  the  learned  profes 
sions —  when  to  my  surprise  he  informed  me  that  he 
was  "a  gambler  by  profession" 

Now,  by  the  way,  gambling  is  an  open  profession  in 
that  locality,  and  is  regarded  as  honorable  and  as  respec 
table  as  the  profession  of  law  or  medicine ;  but  I  had  a 
different  education,  and  was  agitated  a  little  with  fear, 
but  more  with  indignation,  when  my  bed-fellow  told  me 
that  he  was  a  gambler. 

"  The  landlord  assured  me  that  you  were  &  gentleman, 
sir,"  said  I  to  him,  "  but  had  he  told  me  of  your  profes 
sion,  I  would  not  have  consented  for  you  to  share  my 
bed." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  the  gambler,  complacently.  And 
he  entered  into  an  elaborate  argument  to  prove  that  his 
profession  was  as  honest  and  honorable  as  that  of  the 
physician. 

It  is  customary  in  the  South,  after  a  warm  day,  to 


SOUTHERN    SPORTS.  141 

have  speeches  made  in  the  evening  under  the  awnings 
and  piazzas,  or  on  the  walls  and  in  the  parks  in  the 
cities,  and  wherever  men  congregate  at  night  around  the 
taverns  and  liquor  shops  in  the  country. 

In  April,  1853,  I  was  stopping,  with  a  friend  of  mine 
from  Massaclmsets,  in  the  old  city  of  Darien  —  of  which 
I  shall  give  some  account  in  the  next  chapter.  It  was  a 
beautiful  evening,  and  as  a  crowd  was  standing  around 
the  hotel,  Capt.  L.,  a  Custom  House  officer  in  that  port, 
having  some  acquaintance  with  us,  called  for  speeches 
"  from  the  Yankees." 

'•My  friend  here,  Mr.  W.,"  said  I,  "is  an  abolitionist, 
so  that  it  will  not  answer  for  him  to  make  an  abolition 
speech ;  but  if  he  will  make  a  temperance  speech,  I  will 
give  you  an  abolition  speech." 

"  Good  !  "  ejaculated  Capt  L.,  "let  us  have  them  !  " 

My  friend  made  a  neat,  appropriate  temperance  speech, 
in  no  respect  offensive  to  the  wine-bibbers  and  whisky- 
soakers  present,  and  then  I  gave  them  my  abolition 
speech,  stating  simply  such  facts  as  had  come  to  my  know 
ledge,  mostly  from  personal  observation. 

"  Gentlemen  ! "  said  I,  "  the  amount  annually  paid  into 
the  post-office  department  by  the  slave  States  is  less  by 
about  half  a  million  dollars  than  the  cost  of  supporting 
it  in  these  States.  This  deficiency  is  principally  paid 
by  the  North.  I  understand  now,  gentlemen,  the  causes 
which  have  rendered  you  unable  to  sustain  your  own 
mails.  I  have  been  traveling  among  the  Crackers,  in 
the  "old  fields,"  where  I  find  that  the  people  cannot 
read  and  write.  Of  course  little  matter  passes  through 
the  mails  to  them.  I  was  at  the  post-office  at  D.7  up 


142  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

here  in  the  valley  of  tlie  Altamaha,  where  slavery  was 
first  applied,  and  where  it  has  nearly  finished  its  work. 
I  inquired  of  the  post-master,  on  the  seventh  day  of 
February,  whether  a  letter  would  come  to  me  at  that 
place  from  Jacksonville,  Florida,  across  the  country, 
sixty-five  miles,  or  would  be  carried  around  on  the  rail 
road,  and  be  brought  down  river  by  stage  to  that  place. 

i  1  think/  said  the  post-master  at  D.,  i  that  your  letter 
will  come  down  from  the  railroad,  —  for  the  mail-carrier 
from  Jacksonville  has  not  been  up  here  since  last  fall." 

1  Since  last  fall  ?  '  said  I. 

He  afterwards  confessed  that  the  manner  in  which  I 
put  the  second  question,  left  the  impression  on  his  mind 
that  the  post-office  department  had  sent  me  there  to  in 
quire  into  the  particulars  in  regard  to  that  mail  route, 
and  he  began  to  make  explanations,  and  to  apologize  for 
Ms  friend,  the  mail-carrier. 

<I  remember,'  said  he,  'that  he  came  up  once  or 
twice  without  a  letter  or  a  paper.  He  is  a  very  faithful, 
honest  man,  sir,  and  you  may  be  assured,  that  if  there 
was  any  thing  to  bring,  he  would  forward  it  promptly.' 
'  I  should  like  to  know  when  he  was  last  here/  said  I. 
'  I  will  inform  you,  sir/  he  replied. 

He  looked  at  the  books  and  showed  me  the  record, 
giving  the  last  date  of  the  receipt  of  mail  matter  by  that 
route,  from  Jacksonville,  which  was  on  the  eleventh  day 
of  the  October  previous  j  making  four  months,  wanting 
four  days. 

1  Do  you  know  what  they  pay  him  for  carrying  this 
mail  ? '  said  I. 

'  Six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  I  believe/  he  answered. 


SOUTHERN   SPORTS.  143 

Again,  gentlemen,  I  was  at  Emmett,  on  the  central 
railroad  leading  from  Savannah  to  Macon,  when  the  mail 
was  opened,  and  behold !  two  letters  only  were  left  at 
that  office  on  that  day.  One  of  these  was  addressed  to 
me,  and  the  other  to  another  Yankee,  who  was  passing 
that  way.  I  had  no  reason  to  complain,  as  I  had  half 
the  mail. 

They  have  post-offices  at  every  station,  ten  miles 
apart,  on  that  road,  but  so  little  matter  is  left  at  those 
offices,  that  the  passenger  train  stops  while  the  mail  is  as 
sorted.  There  are  twenty  post-offices  on  that  road  of  two 
hundred  miles,  but  only  one  school  house  and  one  church 
to  be  seen  as  you  ride  over  it.  These  post-offices  are 
established  for  the  accommodation  of  a  few  planters, 
who  send  their  cotton  to  the  different  stations. 

A  merchant  belonging  to  South  Carolina  gave  me  an 
account  of  the  burning  of  abolition  papers  in  the  city  of 
C.  Some  suspicions  were  entertained  that  such  docu 
ments  were  received  at  that  post-office,  and  a  select 
company  of  merchants  went  to  the  office  and  demanded 
the  mail  for  an  examination.  The  post-master  would  not 
consent  to  have  the  mail  taken  out  and  examined  for 
that  purpose. 

1  If  you  don't  give  us  the  papers/  said  one  of  the  mer 
chants,  '  we  will  burn  the  office  down,  sir.' 

'I  will  be  absent  about  three  o'clock  this  evening, 
gentlemen,'  responded  the  postmaster,  timidly. 

'  W  e  went  to  the  office  at  three  o'clock,'  said  my  in 
formant,  'and  found  the  post-master  absent  —  but  the 
key  was  in  the  door,  and  we  walked  in.  By  a  careful 


144  INSIDE   VIEW    OP    SLAVERY. 

looking  over,  we  found  a  few  abolition  documents,  aivl 
one  newspaper,  and  some  two  or  three  letters,  that  wo 
marked  incendiary,  and  then  we  took  them  out  into  the 
street.  The  pile  was  too  small  to  make  a  fire  worth 
looking  at  when  the  sun  was  shining,  and  we  bought  a 
bale  of  poor  cotton  —  dog  tail — for  which  we  paid 
fifteen  dollars,  tied  the  inflammatory  papers  to  it,  and 
got  up  a  respectable  bonfire  ! '  " 

I  thus  carried  my  remarks  quite  as  far  as  was  prudent, 
and  continued  speaking  until  I  noticed  that  some  of  my 
auditors  began  to  look  excited  and  angry,  —  querying 
whether  I  was  indeed  one  of  the  fanatics,  and  evidently 
surprised  that  I  should  dare  to  repeat  such  facts,  with 
so  much  earnest  sincerity  and  independence.  Capt.  L., 
however,  came  to  my  relief,  by  diverting  the  attention 
of  the  crowd.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  I  will  tell  you  of  a  frolic 
we  had  catching  an  abolitionist!"  And  assuring  the 
listeners  that  it  was  safe  to  pive  me  the  facts,  inasmuch 
as  they  knew  some  of  my  friends  in  that  State  who 
were  true  to  the  South,  he  proceeded  to  relate  substan 
tially  the  following  amusing  story. 

In  the  autumn  of  1852,  a  gentleman  from  New  York 
came  to  Darien,  and  took  lodgings  at  the  same  hotel 
where  we  were  stopping,  entering  his  name  on  the  reg 
ister  as  a  Mr.  Smith.  He  was  a  very  fine  looking  man, 
large,  tall,  handsome,  and  elegantly  dressed  in  black. 
He  always  appeared  dignified  and  grave,  did  not  drink 
or  swear,  or  even  seem  to  be  light  minded.  After  he 
had  boarded  there  a  few  days,  Capt.  L.  asked  him  if  he 
was  a  clergyman.  He  replied,  very  politely,  that  he 


SOUTHERN   SPORTS.  145 

was  not.  The  next  morning  he  put  his  trunks  on  the 
stacre,  directed  to  Maeon,  and  after  taking  breakfast,  he 
called  for  his  "bill,  paid  it,  and  started  off  up  river  on 
foot,  about  an  hour  after  the  stage  had  left. 

Capt.  L.  then  inquired  of  the  landlord  why  that  gen 
tleman  had  left  in  that  manner,  when  he  appeared  as 
though  he  had  the  means  of  traveling  respectably.  The 
landlord  said  he  knew  nothing  about  the  gentleman,  or 
about  his  business.  Then  they  sent  the  niggers  all 
around  to  the  stores,  and  wharves,  and  lumber  yards, 
to  inquire  what  Mr.  Smith's  business  had  been  in  the 
city.  But  no  information  was  obtained.  They  called 
on  the  landlord  again,  and  inquired  if  Mr.  Smith  had 
brought  with  him  any  reference  from  any  bank,  or  com 
mercial  house,  or  testimonials  from  any  reliable  source. 

u  He  did  not  show  me  any  papers  of  the  kind,"  replied 
the  landlord.  "  His  conduct,  in  my  house,  so  far  as  I 
know,  was  perfectly  correct  and  gentlemanly.  I  knew 
nothing  about  him,  except  that  he  was  out  late  at  night. 
The  niggers  had  to  be  up  till  two  or  three  o'clock,  some 
times,  to  let  him  in." 

Out  late  nights  !  What  in  the  world  could  a  gentle 
man  be  doing  out  so  late  at  ni^ht  in  that  city  ?  They 
once  had  a  gambling  house,  but  it  had  been  run  down  so 
low  since  the  "cotton  trade  fell  off,  that  that  haunt  had 
been  abandoned.  This  Mr.  Smith,  moreover,  had  exhib 
ited  no  characteristics  of  -the  gambler's  profession  in 
his  deportment  or  conversation.  So  the  inference  was, 
that  he  must  be  an  abolitionist.  This  at  once  explained 
his  conduct.  He  was  out  to  the  nigger  huts  in  the  night, 
13 


146  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

either  planning  an  insurrection,  or  preparing  to  take 
some  of  them  North.  The  alarm  ran  through  the  old 
city  like  wildfire.  So  much  life  had  not  been  seen  for 
years.  A  large  crowd  soon  gathered  to  commence  pro 
ceedings  in  the  case.  The  city  marshal,  Mr.  C.7  who 
was  present,  was  ordered  to  pursue  Smith  and  bring 
him  back  to  the  city  for  public  examination.  The  mar 
shal,  however,  said  he  would  not  go  alone,  but  would  go 
if  the  Custom  House  officer  would  accompany  him.  Capt. 
L.  was  ready  to  go,  but  not  without  more  attendants 
than  the  marshal,  as  he  was  small,  and  the  abolitionist 
was  a  large,  stout  man,  with  a  stalwart  arm,  and  was  no 
doubt  well  armed;  but  if  a  sufficient  number  of  gentle 
men  would  volunteer  to  go  to  make  it  perfectly  safe, 
they  would  start.  Ten  others  at  once  volunteered, 
The  horses  were  brought  out,  and,  all  armed,  booted, 
and  spurred,  they  dashed  away  in  hot  pursuit  of  the 
mysterious  stranger.  They  overtook  Smith,  who  was 
walking  very  fast,  within  one  mile  of  Fort  Bamngton, 
fourteen  miles  from  the  city. 

They  all  rode  by,  dismounted,  tied  their  horses,  and 
then  formed  a  solid  phalanx  across  the  road.  As  the 
abolitionist  drew  nigh,  the  marshal  advanced  a  few  steps 
towards  him,  and  arrested  him.  Smith  threw  up  his 
hands  in  consternation,  and  exclaimed,  "what  does  this 
mean  ?  "  looking  as  frightened  as  he  would,  had  he  known 
that  he  was  to  be  shot  the  next  instant. 

"You  must  go  back  to  the  city,"  said  the  marshal, 
"and  you  will  find  out  there  what  it  means." 

"But  what  have  I  done  in  the  city,  sir,"  asked  Smith, 


SOUTHERN   SPORTS.  147 

trembling  in  every  joint,  "  that  you  have  come  out  against 
me  in  this  manner  ?  " 

"  "We  have  no  time  to  parley  with  you/'  replied  the 
marshal.  "  Put  about,  sir  !  " 

"  Have  you  a  warrant  against  me  ?  "  inquired  Smith, 
looking  as  pale  as  death. 

"No,"  answered  the  marshal,  "we  had  not  time  for 
that  j  but  our  orders  are,  to  take  you  back ;  so  we  will 
bandy  no  more  words  about  it." 

"  Grant  me  one  favor/'  said  Smith.  "  I  have  promised 
to  be  at  M., —  which  is  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
distant, — in  one  week;  and  being  about  out  of  money, 
I  am  obliged  to  travel  on  foot.  And  now,  sir,  will  you 
be  so  kind  as  to  tell  me  what  your  suspicions  are  in 
relation  to  me  ?  " 

After  much  persuasion,  the  marshal  informed  him  that 
they  suspected  he  was  an  abolitionist.  Then,  his  face 
brightening  up.  and  the  load  seeming  to  fall  from  his 
shoulders,  he  exclaimed,  "Heaven  knows,  gentlemen, 
that  I  am  no  abolitionist !  I  am  a  gambler.  I  was  out 
Jate  nights,  looking  for  some  chance  to  follow  my  pro 
fession  ;  but  you  have  run  down  there  so,  that  I  could 
find  no  gambling  house,  —  and  as  my  pockets  were  nearly 
empty,  I  was  obliged  to  leave  in  this  manner." 

<(  Fudge  ! "  rejoined  the  marshal,  "  you  can't  deceive  us 
in  that  manner.  Search  him,  boys !  " 

And  the  volunteers  took  off  his  hat  and  coat,  threw 
him  down  and  pulled  off  his  boots  and  jpants,  and 
searched  every  part  of  his  dress  to  see  if  they  could 
find  any  abolition  documents  on  his  person.  But  noth- 


148  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

ing  of  the  kind  was  found.  Still  the  marshal  insisted 
that  Smith  must  go  back  to  the  city,  for  such  was  the 
direction  that  he  had  received  from  the  authorities. 

""Well,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do,  gentlemen/' 
said  Smith.  "  I  have  only  nine  shillings  left ;  but  if  any 
of  you  will  risk  a  game  with  me,  I  can  give  you  ocular 
demonstration  that  I  am  what  I  profess  to  be  —  a  gam 
bler." 

"  Now  we  were  all  gamblers,"  said  Capt.,  L.,  "  and, 
we  thought,  as  shrewd  as  could  be  found  any  where ; 
and  so  we  readily  accepted  the  challenge.  Down  we 
sat  in  the  woods,  and  commenced  the  game.  And  in 
less  than  an  hour,  the  abolitionist  got  every  shilling  of 
money  there  was  in  the  crowd !  He  was,  however,  a 
noble,  generous,  magnanimous  fellow.  He  took  us  to 
the  tavern  at  B.,  and  gave  us  some  good  brandy,  and  a 
good  dinner,  after  which  we  came  home,  and  let  the 
stranger  go  on  his  way  rejoicing.  But  when  we  got 
back  to  the  city,  you  never  saw  a  pack  of  fellows  so 
ashamed  as  we  were,  to  find  the  whole  city  paraded  in 
the  streets  to  receive  us,  and  hear  our  report ! " 

While  Capt.  L.  was  relating  this  story,  I  could  not 
help  thinking  of  my  own  condition  at  that  time.  My 
note  book  was  in  my  pocket,  and  in  my  trunk  might 
have  been  found  abundant  evidence  of  my  abolitionism. 
1  confess  I  was  not  without  my  fears.  And  since  my 
return  to  the  North,  especially  when  reading  accounts 
of  men  being  mobbed  in  the  South  for  their  anti-slavery 
sentiments,  I  have  often  wondered  that  I  escaped.  But 
I  have  no  doubt  the  well  known  fact  that  I  had  relatives 


SOUTHERN   SPORTS.  149 

who  were  slaveholders,  was  a  protection  to  me.  And  I 
think  also,  as  strange  as  it  may  appear,  that  the  freedom 
with  which  I  expressed  my  views  allayed  the  suspicions 
of  those  with  whom  I  conversed.  They  look  upon  a  real 
abolitionist  as  a  secret  enemy — one  who  comes  in  dis 
guise,  and  endeavors  to  incite  the  slaves  to  insurrection 
or  desertion.  But  while  I  always  frankly  expressed  my 
opinions,  there  was  nothing  in  my  conduct  which  could 
lead  them  to  suspect  me  of  any  such  designs.  I  was  at 
all  times  on  intimate  terms  with  slaveholders,  and  that 
class  of  persons  who  do  the  work  of  mobs  —  who  seldom 
own  slaves  themselves  —  were  respectful  towards  me, 
probably  for  that  reason. 


XIV. 


TREATMENT  OF  SLAVES. 

"  Sad  and  "\veary  —  all  forlorn  — 
Slaves  must  work  from  early  morn  ; 
Drear  the  day,  and  dark  the  night,  — 
Woes  of  slaves  find  no  respite. 
Though  I  toil,  I  nothing  gain, 
Joy  ne'er  comes  to  pay  for  pain." 

NEGRO  MELODY. 

MY  object  in  giving  some  account  of  the  treatment  of 
slaves,  is  not  to  draw  from  it  an  argument  against  the 
system.  If  slaves  were  always  treated  kindly,  it  would 
by  no  means  justify  the  institution  of  slavery;  —  nor 
does  the  fact  that  they  are  sometimes  treated  cruelly, 
necessarily  prove  it  wrong.  The  child  may  be  abused 
by  the  parent,  or  lawful  guardian,  —  while  the  kidnap 
per  may  sometimes  manifest  the  kindest  regard  for  the 
physical  comfort  of  his  victim.  And  yet  the  actual  con 
dition  of  the  slaves,  as  it  respects  their  bodily  necessities, 
and  the  treatment  they  receive  from  their  masters  and 
overseers,  is  a  subject  on  which  there  is  much  interest ; 
and  the  facts  which  came  under  my  own  observation  were 
such  as  are  well  adapted  to  awaken  our  sympathies  in 
their  behalf. 


TREATMENT   OF    SLAVES. 


151 


In  the  northern  slave  States,  where  corn  and  bacon 
are  abundant  and  cheap,  the  slaves  suffer  little  from 
hunger  compared  with  what  they  suffer  farther  South, 
where  cotton,  sugar,  and  rice,  are  more  profitable  crops. 
The  slaves  in  Virginia  have  twelve  quarts  of  corn  a 
week,,  besides  a  small  allowance  of  fish,  or  meat.  In 
the  States  further  South,  the  allowance  is  only  eight 
quarts  a  week,  and  no  more  than  this  is  allowed  to  those 
who  have  no  meat.  This  is  the  quantity  usually  dealt 
out  to  about  one  fourth  part  of  the  slaves  in  Georgia,  so 
far  as  I  could  ascertain.  There  is  no  regular,  uniform 
system  adopted  throughout  the  State,  however.  Neigh 
borhoods  have  their  own  conventional  rules.  In  some 
parts  of  the  State  several  contiguous  plantations  may  bo 
found  where  the  slaves  arc  not  tasked  or  allowanced ; 
where  they  fare  just  as  well  in  respect  to  food  and  cloth 
ing  as  the  masters.  Such  masters  go  to  the  field,  plan 
their  own  work,  and,  if  need  be,  help  do  it,  —  and  they 
treat  their  slaves  as  kindly  as  they  can  safely  be  treated. 
But  if  you  pass  over  a  creek,  or  a  river,  into  another 
neighborhood,  you  will  find  a  different  system.  The 
task  of  "  one  acre  a  day,"  at  hoeing,  must  be  performed. 
The  slave  is  put  on  allowance,  and  rigorously  treated  in 
every  respect.  And  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  there  is 
the  same  difference  among  individuals  and  neighbor 
hoods,  in  the  treatment  of  slaves,  that  there  is  in  other 
respects.  And  men,  and  communities,  differ  in  the  South, 
as  they  do  in  the  North,  —  though  not  in  the  same  de 
gree.  For  while  freedom  is  the  parent  of  life,  which 
everywhere  exhibits  itself  in  boundless  variety,  —  the 


152  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

tendency  of  slavery  is  to  depress  everything  to  one  com 
mon  level. 

Some  masters,  who  have  oak  lands,  provide  meat  for 
their  slaves,  three  times  a  day,  and  as  much  as  they  want. 
Others  give  them  meat  twice  a  week  only;  —  others, 
none  at  all. 

Slaves  uniformly  fare  the  hardest  on  the  large  planta 
tions.  I  suppose  it  is  really  impossible  to  furnish  meat 
to  a  large  number  of  hands,  on  the  rice  and  sugar  fields, 
in  the  hot  season.  Salted  meats  soon  become  tainted, 
and  fresh  cannot  be  obtained.  Some  of  the  rice  plant 
ers  informed  me  that  they  had  substituted  rice  for  corn, 
in  feeding  their  hands,  but  they  were  not  so  healthy  as 
when  fed  on  corn. 

I  spent  a  few  days  near  a  large  plantation  in  the 
country,  whose  owner  had  five  hundred  slaves ;  and  I  had 
free  access  to  their  huts.  They  were  never  required  to 
labor  hard,  as  the  master  only  desired  to  make  the 
plantation  support  itself.  His  only  profit  was  the  in 
crease  of  the  slaves,  which  amounted  sometimes  to  twen 
ty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year.  But  though  the  slaves 
were  not  overtasked,  they  were  provided  with  only  a 
peck  of  corn  a  week.  His  overseer  was  ordered  to  pro 
cure  coarse  waled  cloth  enough  to  make  each  of  them 
two  garments  a  year.  Hats  and  shoes  were  provided 
in  winter  for  the  wood-choppers  and  fence-builders,  but 
for  no  others.  The  whole  expense  for  food  and  cloth 
ing,  reckoning  the  price  of  the  corn  and  cloth  at  the 
market  value,  could  not  have  exceeded  ten  dollars  to 
each  slave. 


TREATMENT    OF    SLATES.  153 

There  was  very  little  labor  done  on  that  plantation. 
One  Northern  man  would  perform  as  much  as  five  of 
those  slaves.  And  yet  I  never  saw  a  more  miserable, 
degraded,  despairing  family  of  human  beings.  Debts, 
taxes,  and  expenses  of  all  kinds  were  paid  by  the  sale 
of  slaves,  and  the  "  soul  driver  "  was  an  almost  weekly 
visitor.  There  was  not  an  unbroken  family  among 
them, — -not  even  parents  and  children  living  together, 
excepting  the  mothers  who  were  nursing  their  infants. 

I  frequently  saw  those  mothers  take  their  infants  and 
their  corn  cake,  at  the  sound  of  the  horn  at  day  break, 
and  inarch  in  slow  and  solemn  procession  to  the  corn 
fields.  When  they  readied  the.  place  where  they  had 
left  their  hoes  the  evening  before,  a  long  distance 
from  the  huts,  —  as  the  fields  near  .by  had  been  worn 
out  —  they  laid  their  infants  down  in  the  "gum  cra 
dles" —  troughs  cut  in  logs  —  and  each  one  hoed  a  long 
row  out  and  back  in  season  to  nourish  the  infants  and 
eat  the  dinner-cake  at  noon.  Then  they  hoed  two  more 
rows  before  returning  to  the  cheerless  huts,  to  rest 
their  weary  limbs  at  night.  "When  they  reached  the  huts, 
they  took  one  quart  of  corn  each,  and  putting  it  into  a 
mortar  —  made  by  themselves  by  burning  a  hole  into  the 
end  of  a  pine  log  —  they  pounded  it  into  coarse  meal 
with  a  wooden  or  iron  pestle.  After  this  they  put  one 
third  of  it  into  the  kettle,  and  boiled  it  for  supper,  and 
then  kneaded  the  remainder  into  a  cake,  and  put  it  into 
the  embers  to  be  baked  for  breakfast  and  dinner  the 
next  day.  They  then  laid  down  on  the  ground,  —  as  the 
huts  had  no  floors,  — and  slept,  some  on  a  few  filthy  old 


154  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

rags,  others,  on  a  thin  layer  of  rice  straw,  until  the  horn 
called  them  again  to  perform  their  daily  round  of  cheer 
less  toil.  One  look  at  those  slaves  —  and  they  had  a 
kind  master,  if  by  kindness  is  only  meant  not  to  whip, 
or  overtask  —  would  have  been  sufficient  to  convince 
any  Northern  man  that  happiness  is  incompatible  with 
such  a  condition. 

When  provisions  are  very  scarce  the  slaves  suffer 
much  from  hunger  on  some  of  the  large  plantations.  "  I 
have  known  slaves  to  suffer  so  much  from  hunger,"  said 
a  gentleman  to  me  residing  in  a  place  called  <  Cave  Run,' 
S.  Carolina,  "  that  they  were  accustomed  to  cat  unclean 
beasts,  and  birds,  fish,  insects,  and  reptiles.  I  have 
known  them  to  eat  alligators,  crows,  owls,  &c.,  and  other 
things  that  nobody  would  cat  if  sufficient  wholesome 
food  could  be  obtained  to  keep  them  from  starvation ! " 

"  The  dogs,"  he  added,  "  fare  better  than  the  slaves, 
with  some  masters,  —  because  whipping  will  not  prevent 
the  dog  from  stealing  sheep,  or  fowls,  when  he  is  hungry." 
•^  "When  I  was  a  small  boy,"  said  a  faithful  slave  be 
longing  to  J.  It.,  of  Cave  Run,  "I  was  set  to  cooking 
alligators  for  master's  hounds,  and  an  old  slave  woman 
frequently  came  to  me  to  beg  some  of  the  cooked  alliga 
tor  to  eat.  She  would  say  she  was  hungry  —  and  I  could 
not  refuse  her  some  dogs'  meat." 

"It  was  quite  a  large  business,"  he  continued,  "to 
cook  for  thirty  dogs ;  and  it  had  to  be  done  in  style.  I 
was  often  whipped  for  letting  the  dogs'  dinner  burn,  or 
for  letting  them  steal  their  food  between  meals  —  al 
though  I  was  not  allowed  to  whip  them  —  or  for  not 


TREATMENT   OF   SLAVES.  155 

having  enough  cooked  ready  for  them  when  they  would 
come  home  unexpectedly  from  a  chase.  And  many  a 
time  have  I  wished  I  had  been  made  a  dog,  instead  of  a 
slave,  when  I  saw  how  much  better  the  dogs  fared  than 
the  slaves,  and  felt  how  much  more  kind  their  masters 
were  to  them,  than  to  me,  and  how  much  better  they 
were  treated  in  every  respect  than  I  was.  It  may  seem 
strange  to  you,  master,  but  /  envied  the  dog  his  con 
dition  !  " 

I  have  heard  much  said  about  the  time  allowed  to 
slaves  to  work  for  themselves,  in  cultivating  gardens,  and 
corn-patches,  raising  poultry  &c.  Those  slaves  who  are 
indulged  with  such  privileges  are  left  generally,  to  pro 
vide  themselves  with  hats,  and  shoes,  and  tobacco,  or 
any  other  little  articles  of  luxury,  —  for  which  they  must 
spend  the  avails  of  their  labors  on  the  Sabbath,  or  in  the 
night,  when  they  need  to  rest.  But  the  number  that  are 
permitted  to  labor  at  all  for  such  purposes  is  very  small. 
Indeed  I  must  say  that  very  little  regard  is  had 'to  the 
comfort  of  the  great  mass  of  the  slave  population.  There 
are  many  honorable  individual,  and  a  few  neighborhood 
exceptions.  But  the  great  object  of  the  master  is  to 
derive  the  greatest  possible  profit,  at  the  least  possible 
expense,  provided  that  he  does  not  endanger  the  life, 
and  health,  and  value  of  his  slaves.  This  is  all  that  is 
comprehended  in  the  pecuniary  idea  of  slave  labor. 

In  relation  to  the  punishments  to  which  slaves  are  ex 
posed,  and  often  subjected,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  give 
any  detailed  account.  Occasional  instances  came  under 
my  notice,  which  I  have  narrated,  in  connection  with 


156  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

other  incidents.  In  this  manner  the  reader  may  learn 
the  facts  quite  as  correctly,  and  much  more  agreeably  to 
himself,  than  he  could  by  perusing  an  entire  chapter  of 
sufferings  and  tortures.  It  is  enough  for  any  one  who 
understands  anything  of  human  nature  to  know  that  the 
slave  is  helpless,  powerless,  unprotected,  in  the  hands 
of  his  master.  Admitting  that  slaveholders  arc  no  worse 
than  other  men,  —  it  cannot  be  otherwise  than  true  that 
their  slaves  often  suffer  terribly.  The  same  number  of 
Northern  men,  if  they  had  the  same  power  over  their 
fellow  creatures,  if  there  were  no  restraints  in  society 
around  them  upon  their  passions  —  their  anger,  malice, 
revenge,  cupidity,  lust  —  would  exhibit  a  degree  of  de 
pravity  of  which  we  have  now  no  conception. 

I  will,  however,  give  a  brief  description  of  the  instru 
ments  of  torture  which  are  in  common  use  in  the  South. 
In  this  department  the  slaveholders  exhibit  more  me- 
chanical  skill,  and  power  of  invention,  than  in  their  im 
plements  of  husbandry. 

THE   THUMB   SCREW. 

I  walked  nine  miles  over  bottom  land,  much  of  the 
way  in  water  ankle  deep,  to  see  a  slave  who  was  wear 
ing  this  instrument.  The  boy  was  riding  a  mule,  in  the 
cotton  field,  drawing  a  plow  which  was  held  by  his  mother. 
I  inquired  his  age  —  but  neither  the  mother  nor  son  could 
give  it.  I  judged  him  to  "be  about  sixteen.  He  had 
been  wearing  the  screw  two  days.  Ho  said  that  it 
caused  him  but  little  pain  at  first;  but  after  the  swelling 


TREATMENT   OF   SLAVES.  157 

commenced  in  the  thumb,  the  pain  continued  to  increase, 
and  lie  was  already  suffering  so  much  that  he  said  he 
would  die  before  he  would  ever  have  it  put  on  again. 

The  apparatus  consists  of  a  wristband  of  iron,  with 
an  iron  stud  or  post  about  three  inches  long  standing  up 
in  it  opposite  the  thumb.  A  thin  strap  of  iron  passes 
around  the  ball  of  the  thumb,  attached  to  a  piece  of  round 
iron,  which  runs  back  through  a  hole  in  the  top  of  the 
post.  Upon  the  end  of  this  round  iron  is  cut  a  screw, 
and  behind  the  post  a  nut  is  put  on.  When  this  nut  is 
turned,  the  thumb  is  drawn  backward.  The  instrument 
is  strong  enough  to  dislocate  the  thumb  by  this  retrac 
tion.  The  greatest  amount  of  suffering  which  man  is 
able  to  endure  can  be  inflicted  upon  the  slave  with  this 
instrument,  and  no  scar  remains  to  reduce  his  value  in 
the  market.  By  a  long  application  the  large  nerves  of 
the  thumb  become  highly  inflamed,  and  the  most  intense 
pain  ensues. 

The  poor  boy  whom  I  saw  wearing  it,  perished  under 
the  first  application.  The  agony  became  so  intense  as 
to  induce  the  lockjaw.  As  soon  as  it  was  known,  the 
instrument  was  removed,  and  a  physician  employed;  but 
his  aid  afforded  no  relief.  Death  came  to  release  the 
suffering  slave  from  the  tyrant's  power. 

THE   STOCKS. 

Two  pine  planks,  about  two  inches  in  thickness,  one 
foot  in  width,  and  two  feet  in  length,  have  each  two  semi- 
lunar  notches  cut  in  the  edges,  near  the  middle,  just  large 
14 


158  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

enough  to  take  in  half  of  the  ankle.  One  of  these 
planks  is  applied  to  each  side  of  the  ankle,  the  edges  of 
the  planks  are  brought  together,  and  then  wooden  cleats, 
running  across  the  planks,  are  fastened  on  with  wooden 
pins  or  iron  spikes.  The  slaves  are  put  in  these  stocks 
to  prevent  them  from  running  away.  They  are  so  closely 
fitted  to  the  ankle  that  the  foot  cannot  be  drawn  out, 
made  so  strong  that  they  cannot  be  broken;  and  so  heavy 
that  they  cannot  be  dragged. 

THE   BELL. 

The  name  docs  not  indicate  that  this  is  an  instrument 
of  much  suffering,  —  and  yet  the  wearer  finds  it  to  be 
so.  An  iron  belt  passes  around  the  loins  —  fastened 
over  the  spine  with  a  lock,  and  a  socket  about  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  An  iron  collar  is  put  around  the  neck, 
with  an  iron  ring  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  fastened  to 
the  collar  behind.  A  rod  of  round  iron  runs  down 
through  the  ring  at  the  back  of  the  neck,  and  rests  in 
the  socket  of  the  belt  below.  Above  the  neck  this  rod 
is  split,  and  bent  out  in  the  shape  of  two  horns,  rising 
about  a  foot  above  the  head.  A  cross-piece  of  iron  is 
fastened  to  the  top  of  the  horns,  and  from  the  center  of 
the  cross-piece  the  "  bell" —  a  common  cow-bell  —  is  sus 
pended.  The  collar  on  the  neck  is  often  nearly  as  wide 
as  the  neck  is  long,  and  the  upper  edge  sometimes  is  ser 
rated —  like  a  saw.  Whenever  the  wearer  turns  his 
head,  the  collar  chafes  his  neck.  The  bell  is  put  on 
slaves  that  have  been  guilty  of  running  away,  so  that 


TREATMENT   OF   SLAVES.  159 

they  may  be  heard  as  they  run,  if  they  make  another  at 
tempt.  Besides,  the  apparatus  is  so  heavy,  and  the 
horns  so  high  and  broad,  that  little  progress  can  be 
made  with  it  on,  in  the  woods. 

This  instrument  is  not  often  applied,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  travel  fourteen  miles  to  see  one  in  use.  The  slave 
who  wore  it  was  driving  a  mule,  in  a  cotton  gin.  When 
ever  Cuffcc  raised  his  hand  to  strike  the  mule,  the  bell 
would  sound,  and  the  animal  was  thus  warned  of  the 
impending  blow. 

THE   GAG. 

The  Gag  is  a  piece  of  iron,  about  three  inches  in 
length,  one  inch  in  width  at  one  end,  half  an  inch  at  the 
other,  and  about  one  eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 
This  instrument  is  put  into  the  mouth,  over  the  tongue, 
with  the  narrow  end  inside,  while  the  wide  end  is  left 
projecting  through  the  lips.  The  outer  end  is  inserted 
into  a  small  strap  of  iron  that  passes  over  the  mouth, 
the  ends  of  which  extend  around  to  the  back  of  the  neck, 
where  they  are  fastened  together  by  a  rivet,  or  a  pad 
lock.  "With  this  long,  wide  piece  of  iron  thus  confined 
on  the  tongue,  the  slave  is  truly  gagged,  —  as  he  is  un 
able  to  utter  a  syllable. 

I  saw  the  gag  on  a  slave  preacher,  who,  contrary  to 
his  orders,  had  left  his  hut  in  the  night,  and  gone  out  in 
to  the  woods  to  preach  to  some  slaves,  who  had  also 
left  their  huts  without  leave,  to  go  and  hear  him.  It 
was  dangerous  to  allow  such  liberty  to  slaves.  But 


1GO  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

"  Sambo"  thought  it  his  duty  to  preach  in  the  night,  even 
if  he  became  a  martyr  by  it,  as  there  was  much  religious 
interest  excited  among  the  slaves  by  his  preaching.  He 
had  been  punished  severely  in  various  ways  for  his  night 
preaching,  —  until  his  master's  patience  had  been  ex 
hausted,  and  he  told  him  that  if  he  found  him  out  again 
at  midnight,  he  would  shoot  him.  But  death,  if  met  in 
the  path  of  duty,  had  no  terrors  for  Sambo.  When  the 
appointed  hour  came,  his  flambeau  blazed  on  the  stump, 
and  words  of  earnest  Christian  counsel  and  consolation 
were  dropping  from  his  Ups,  when  Mr.  B.,  his  master, 
drew  near  to  the  devout  Worshippers,  with  his  loaded 
rifle.  With  a  stealthy  step,  he  advanced  slowly  through 
the  dark  pine  woods,  until  nearly  within  gun-shot  of  his 
victim,  when  the  crackling  of  some  dry  limbs  under  his 
feet  startled  the  outer  guard,  and  the  alarm  ran  through 
the  listening  crowd,  reaching  Sambo's  ear.  Mr.  B.  halt 
ed,  and  leaned  against  a  tree,  while  waiting  for  the  fears 
which  his  footsteps  had  created  to  pass  away.  Sambo 
continued  to  preach.  The  musical  tones  of  his  voice, 
the  Christian  heroism  exhibited  in  his  resignation  to  his 
fate,  the  moral  courage  displayed  in  recognizing  his 
superior  obligations  to  a  higher  power,  the  hearty  re 
sponses  which  arose  from  his  hearers,  as  he  counseled 
obedience  to  their  masters,  and  a  patient  endurance  of 
sufferings  for  their  Heavenly  Master's  sake,  touched  the 
heart  of  Mr.  Bv — who  was  himself  a  professor  of  the 
same  faith  —  and  changed  his  purpose.  He  decided  to 
retire  silently,  and  wait  until  morning  before  punishing 
the  disobedient  slave.  In  the  mornino.1  Sambo  was  taken 


TREATMENT   OF   SLAVES.  161 

to  the  blacksmith  to  be  gagged.  After  the  rough  iron 
had  been  thrust  into  his  mouth,  and  fastened  there,  it 
was  useless  for  him  to  run  off  in  the  night  to  preach 
again,  for  he  could  not  speak  a  word.  As  I  looked  up 
on  this  preacher,  thus  compelled  by  his  master  to  be 
dumb,  I  could  not  avoid  the  reflection  that,  after  all,  his 
condition  was  not  unlike  that  of  many  of  his  Northern 
brethren, —  though  it  doubtless  causes  less  pain  to  be 
gagged  with  cotton,  than  with  iron.  It  is  but  just  to 
say,  however,  that  since  the  passage  of  the  Nebraska 
bill,  the  proportion  of  Northern  ministers  that  are  gag 
ged  by  the  Slave  Power  is  far  less  than  it  was  before. 

COTTON  PLANTER'S  WHIP, 

This  is  called  the  "  Cotton  planter's  whip,"  because 
the  planters  say  that  this  whip  raises  the  cotton*  The 
stock  is  covered  with  green  hide,  about  four  feet  long, 
and  is  loaded  with  lead  at  the  butt.  The  lash  is  long  and 
heavily  wrought  into  hard  knots  towards  the  end,  with 
wire.  The  staff  is  so  heavy,  and  the  lash  is  so  long, 
that  the  whipping-master  is  obliged  to  twirl  it  skilfully  in 
the  air  before  he  can  command  its  full  force.  Hence  the  * 
labor  of  using  this  whip  is  hard,  and  when  several  hun 
dred  lashes  are  ordered,  the  whippers  take  turns. 

THE    PADDLE. 

This  is  made  of  a  board,  and  is  about  three  feet  long, 
and  four  inches  wide.     One  end  is  shaved  down  for  the 


162  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

handle,  and  the  other  end  is  bored  full  of  half  inch  anger 
holes.  The  paddle  is  sometimes  applied  to  the  back  of 
a  slave  until  all  the  skin  is  taken  off  by  it,  so  that  no 
scar  will  remain  to  reduce  the  value  of  the  slave  in  the 
market. 

GANG   CHAIN". 

This  is  a  long  chain,  running  the  whole  length  between 
the  pairs  of  slaves  marching  in  droves  to  the  market. 
And  the  short  chains  between  each  pair  are  fastened  to 
the  long  gang  chain,  and  to  a  strong  iron  collar,  fastened 
by  a  padlock  around  the  neck  of  each  slave. 

There  are  other  means  resorted  to  for  punishing  slaves, 
which  I  need  not  describe.  They  are  confined  in  tho 
"  sugar  houses,"  —  made  to  walk  the  "  tread-mill,"  —  and 
fastened  together,  or  bound  with  "hand-cuffs."  And 
aside  from  any  regular  instrument  of  torture,  a  master, 
or  a  mistress,  or  an  overseer,  in  a  fit  of  rage,  will  seize 
whatever  weapon  is  at  hand,  and  use  it  for  this  purpose. 
And  the  occasions,  or  the  frequency  of  such  inflictions 
depend  on  a  thousand  circumstances  which  cannot  be 
foreseen,  and  which  it  would  be  useless  for  me  to  specify. 
I  leave  the  subject,  as  one  of  the  most  unpleasant  that 
came  under  my  observation  during  my  Southern  tour. 


XV. 

FOOTPRINTS  OF  SLAVERY. 


"  Come !  by  whatever  sacred  name  disguised, 
Oppression,  come  !  and  in  thy  works  rejoice ! 
See  nature's  richest  plains  to  putrid  fens 
Turned  by  thy  fury.     From  their  cheerful  bounds 
Sec  razed  tfr  enlivening  village,  farm,  and  seat." 

THOMPSON. 

THE  disastrous  influence  of  slavery  upon  industrial 
pursuits,  and  its  destructive  effects  upon  the  prosperity 
of  communities,  as  well  as  of  individuals,  are  seen,  in  the 
South  in  every  department  of  life,  and  among  all  classes 
of  society.  They  are  therefore  incidentally  traced  in 
all  the  chapters  of  this  narrative.  But  my  object  in  this 
chapter  is  to  group  together  some  facts  illustrating  this 
truth  more  particularly,  and  exhibiting  it  in  a  stronger 
light. 

All  progress  and  all  retrogression  are  perhaps  relative, 
rather  than  absolute,  and  can  best  be  shown  by  compar 
ison  or  contrast.  But  if  I  indulge  in  this,  my  pictures 
may  be  colored,  or  at  least  some  may  suppose  them  to 
be,  by  my  predilections  for  the  North.  I  will,  therefore, 
put  into  a  frame  of  my  own, —  surrounding  them  with 
occasional  views  taken  by  myself  during  my  various  ex 
cursions,  —  some  pencilings  drawn  by  the  slaveholders 


164  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

themselves.  They,  certainly,  will  not  be  accused  of 
prejudice  against  the  South.  And  I  will  first  copy  from 
a  speech  of  Hon.  W.  C.  Preston,  of  South  Carolina,  as 
reported  in  the  Columbia  Telescope.  At  the  time  of 
its  delivery  he  had  represented  that  State  in  the  U.  S. 
Senate  for  nearly  six  years,  and  he  continued  a  member  of 
that  body  for  more  than  six  years  afterwards.  But  not 
more  on  account  of  his  high  position  in  the  South,  than 
of  his  power  of  graphic  and  life-like  delineation,  arc  his 
remarks  worthy  of  our  careful  attention. 

"No  Southern  man  can  journey,  —  as  I  have  lately 
done,  —  through  the  Northern  States,  and  witness  the 
prosperity,  the  industry,  the  public  spirit  which  they 
exhibit  —  the  sedulous  cultivation  of  all  those  arts  by 
which  life  is  rendered  comfortable  and  respectable — with 
out  feelings  of  deep  sadness  and  shame,  as  he  remem 
bers  his  own  neglected  and  desolate  home.  There,  no 
dwelling  is  to  be  seen  abandoned,  no  farm  uncultivated. 
Every  person,  and  every  thing,  performs  a  part  toward 
the  grand  result,  and  the  whole  land  is  covered  with 
fertile  fields,  with  manufactories,  and  canals,  and  rail 
roads,  and  edifices,  and  towns,  and  cities.  Along  the 
route  of  the  great  New  York  canal  (that  glorious  mon 
ument  to  the  memory  of  De  Witt  Clinton),  a  canal,  a 
railroad,  and  a  turnpike  are  to  be  seen  in  the  width 
of  perhaps  a  hundred  yards,  each  of  them  crowded 
with  travel,  or  overflowing  with  commerce.  Throughout 
their  course,  lands  that  before  their  construction  would 
scarcely  command  five  dollars  the  acre,  now  sell  for  fifty, 
seventy-five,  or  a  hundred.  Passing  along  it,  you  see 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   SLAVERY.  165 

no  space  of  three  miles  without  a  town  or  village,  and 
you  are  never  out  of  the  sound  of  a  church  bell. 

"  We  of  the  South  are  mistaken  in  the  character  of 
these  people,  when  we  think  of  them  only  as  peddlers 
in  horn  flints  and  bark  nutmegs.  Their  energy  and  en 
terprise  are  directed  to  all  objects,  great  and  small, 
within  their  reach.  At  the  fall  of  a  scanty  rivulet  they 
set  up  their  little  manufactory  of  wooden  buttons  or 
combs  —  they  plant  a  barren  hill-side  with  broom  corn, 
and  make  it  into  brooms  at  the  bottom  —  and  on  its 
top  they  erect  a  wind-mill.  Thus  at  a  single  spot  you 
may  see  the  air,  the  earth,  and  the  water,  all  working 
for  them.  But  at  the  same  time  the  ocean  is  whitened 
to  its  extremities  witli  the  sails  of  their  ships,  and  the 
land  is  covered  with  their  works  of  art  and  usefulness. 

"Massachusetts  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
of  the  Northern  States.  Yet  of  natural  productions 
she  exports  but  two  articles —  granite  and  ice.  Abso 
lutely  nothing  but  rock  and  ice!  Everything  else  of 
her  commerce,  from  which  she  derives  so  much,  is  arti 
ficial —  the  work  of  her  own  hands. 

"  All  this  is  done,  in  a  region  with  a  bleak  climate  and 
sterile  soil,  by  the  energy  and  intelligence  of  the  people. 
Every  man  knows  that  the  public  good  is  his  individual 
advantage.  The  number  of  railroads  and  other  modes 
of  expeditious  intercommunication,  knits  the  whole  coun 
try  into  a  closely  compacted  mass,  through  which  the 
productions  of  commerce  and  of  the  press,  the  comforts 
of  life  and  the  means  of  knowledge,  are  universally 
diffused;  while  the  close  intercourse  of  travel  and  busi- 


1C 6  INSIDE  VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

ness  makes  all  neighbors,  and  promotes  a  common  inter 
est  and  a  common  sympathy. 

"  In  a  community  thus  connected,  a  single  flash  of 
thought  pervades  the  whole  land,  almost  as  rapidly  as 
thought  itself  can  fly.  The  population  becomes,  as  it 
were,  a  single  set  of  muscles,  animated  by  one  heart,  and 
directed  by  a  common  sensorium. 

"How  different  the  condition  of  these  things  in  the 
South !  Here,  the  face  of  the  country  wears  the  aspect 
of  premature  old  age  and  decay.  No  improvement  is 
seen  going  on  —  nothing  is  done  for  posterity  —  no  man 
thinks  of  any  thing  beyond  the  present  moment.  Our 
lands  are  yearly  tasked  to  their  utmost  capacity  of  pro 
duction,  and  when  exhausted,  arc  abandoned  for  the 
youthful  West.  Because  nature  has  been  prodigal  to 
us,  we  seem  to  think  it  unnecessary  to  do  any  thing  for 
ourselves.  The  industry  and  skill  that  have  converted 
the  inclement  and  barren  hills  of  New  England  into  a 
garden,  of  the  climate  and  fertile  soil  of  the  South 
would  create  almost  a  paradise.  Our  natural  advan 
tages  are  among  the  greatest  with  which  Providence  has 
blessed  mankind,  but  we  lack  the  spirit  to  improve  and 
enjoy  them.  The  rich  ore  is  beneath  our  feet,  yet  we 
dig  not  for  it.  The  golden  fruit  hangs  from  the  bough, 
and  we  lift  not  our  hands  to  gather  it.  The  cask  of  de 
licious  liquor  is  before  our  eyes,  but  we  are  too  lazy 
even  to  broach  it." 

It  is  true  that  Senator  Preston  docs  not  attribute  the 
striking  contrast  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
which  he  thus  so  skillfully  pictures,  to  the  existence  of 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   SLAVERY.  167 

slavery  in  the  latter.  Nor  will  I  make  any  such  asser 
tion,  —  but  will  rather  leave  it  for  every  one  to  come  to 
whatever  conclusion  the  facts  will  warrant.  But  for 
this  purpose  I  will  ask  the  reader's  attention  to  a  com 
parison  of  individual  States,  drawn  partly  from  my  own 
observation,  and  partly  from  the  census  report  of  1850. 
There  are  no  two  States  in  the  Union  so  nearly  equal  in 
natural  resources  as  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  —  though  if 
there  is  any  difference,  it  is  in  favor  of  the  former. 
Kentucky  has  about  the  same  area,  and  a  somewhat 
milder  climate  than  the  northern  part  of  Ohio,  —  but 
both  States  have  a  very  fertile  soil.  Kentucky  was 
settled  first,  and  in  1790  had  a  population  of  60,000, 
while  Ohio  was  still  a  wilderness.  In  1815  the  latter 
had  overtaken  the  former  in  population,  and  far  surpassed 
it  in  wealth.  In  1850  the  population  of  Kentucky  was 
982,405,  while  that  of  Ohio  was  1,980,427  !  Both  are 
agricultural  States,  and  raise  very  nearly  the  same  kinds 
of  produce  —  no  rice  or  cotton  of  any  consequence  being 
cultivated  in  either.  And  though  Kentucky  had  a  million 
and  a  half  acres  of  improved  lands  more  than  Ohio, 
the  value  of  farm  lands  in  the  former  was  $  154,330,262, 
-in  the  latter  it  was  $358,758,603!  The  value  of 
farming  implements  and  machinery  in  the  first  was 
$  5,169,037.— in  the  last,  $  12,750,585  !  If  this  astonish 
ing  difference  in  the  prosperity  and  growth  of  these  two 
States,  during  the  last  fifty  years,  is  not  explained  by 
the  fact  that  one  is  a  slave  State,  and  the  other  free, 
how  can  we  explain  it  ?  What  other  cause  can  be  as* 
skmed  ? 


168  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

As  it  is  the  turn  of  the  South  to  give  us  the  next  pic 
ture,  I  will  quote  from  a  pamphlet  published  in  1840  by 
Hon.  Thomas  F.  Marshal,  a  distinguished  politician  of 
Kentucky. 

"In  1790,  Virginia,  with  70,000  square  miles  of  ter 
ritory,  contained  a  population  of  749,308.  New  York, 
upon  a  surface  of  46,000  square  miles,  contained  a  pop 
ulation  of  344,120.  This  statement  exhibits  in  favor 
of  Virginia  a  difference  of  24,000  square  miles  of  terri 
tory,  and  408,108  in  population, — which  is  double  that  of 
New  York  and  68,000  more.  In  1830,  after  a  race  of 
forty  years,  Virginia  is  found  to  contain  1,211,405  souls, 
and  New  York  1,918,608.  Virginia  has  increased  in 
the  ratio  of  61  per  cent,  and  New  York  in  that  of  566 
per  cent!"  [In  1850  the  population  of  Virginia  was 
1,421,661,  or  less  than  double  that  of  1790,  while  that 
of  New  York  was  3,097,394,  being  nine  times  its 
population  in  1790  !  The  value  of  farming  lands  in  Vir 
ginia  in  1850  was  $  216,401,441.  In  New  York  it  was 
$  554,546,642 !] 

Mr,  Marshal  continues  :  —  "  Statesmen  may  differ  about 
policy,  or  the  means  to  be  employed  in  the  promotion 
of  the  public  good ;  but  surely  they  ought  to  be  agreed 
as  to  what  prosperity  means.  I  think  there  can  be  no 
dispute  that  New  York  is  a  greater,  richer,  and  more 
prosperous  State  than  Virginia.  What  has  occasioned 
the  difference  ?  There  is  but  one  explanation  of  the 
facts  I  have  shown.  The  clog  that  has  staid  the  march 
of  her  people,  the  incubus  that  has  weighed  down  her 
enterprise,  strangled  her  commerce,  kept  sealed  her  ex- 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   SLAVERY.  169 

haustless  fountains  of  mineral  wealth,  and  paralyzed  her 
arts,  manufactures,  and  improvements,  is  negro  slavery." 

In  confirmation  of  this  conclusion,  I  noticed  wher 
ever  I  traveled  in  the  South  that  the  old  counties,  which 
wore  first  settled,  were  uniformly  inferior  to  the  new 
counties  in  population  and  wealth.  I  do  not  include  in 
this  statement  those  counties  which  contain  large  cities 
on  the  seaboard,  as  other  causes  contribute  to  their 
prosperity.  But  wherever  the  influence  of  slavery  has 
been  felt  the  longest,  the  soil  is  the  most  barren,  the 
buildings  the  poorest  or  the  most  dilapidated,  the  schools 
and  churches  tho  fewest,  and  the  people  the  most  igno 
rant  and  degraded. 

Virginia  is  the  oldest  of  the  States.  In  her  produc 
tions,  her  harbors,  arid  rivers,  she  is  unequaled  in  her 
advantages  for  commerce,  —  foreign  as  well  as  domestic. 
But  her  trade  is  small,  and  is  mostly  carried  on  through 
the  ports  and  the  shipping  of  the  North.  No  Northern 
State  has  equal  natural  advantages  for  manufactures, 
and  yet  they  are  almost  entirely  unimproved.  The 
value  of  her  cotton  manufactures  in  1850  was  only 
$  1,486.384, —  being  a  little  more  than  half  as  much  as 
those  of  Maine,  and  less  than  one  twelfth  as  much  as 
Massachusetts. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  this  country  is 
Richmond,  the  capital  of  Virginia;  and  it  might  have 
been  one  of  the  largest.  Situated  at  the  head  of  tide 
water  on  James  River,  it  has  a  fine  harbor,  and  is  admir 
ably  located  for  commerce.  The  foreign  arrivals  in 
1852  were  35,  and  the  clearances  for  foreign  ports  71. 
15 


170  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

The  foreign  clearances  from  Boston  the  same  year  were 
2866,  and  the  arrivals  2974.  Richmond,  like  ancient 
Rome,  is  built  on  several  hills.  The  scenery  of  its  en 
virons  is  unsurpassed  for  beauty  and  variety.  Nor  are 
its  advantages  limited  to  the  beautiful.  The  river  here 
descends  about  100  feet,  constituting  one  of  the  best 
waterpowers  in  the  country.  This,  however,  is  but  par 
tially  improved.  There  are  some  flouring  mills,  and 
a  few  tobacco  factories.  "With  a  proper  degree  of  en 
terprise,  it  would  become  one  of  the  largest  manufac 
turing  cities  in  the  Union.  But  it  lies  weak  and  powerless 
in  the  hands  of  slavery.  In  1 800  its  population  was 
5,737,  and  that  of  Cincinnati  was  750.  Now,  after  a 
growth  of  fifty  years,  the  population  of  Cincinnati  is 
160,000  —  while  that  of  Richmond  is  only  30,000, — 
of  whom  10,000  are  colored ! 

The  State  of  Georgia  contains  very  nearly  as  much 
territory  as  the  whole  of  New  England,  and  is  divided 
into  ninety-seven  counties.  In  this  State  I  could  see 
more  distinctly  than  in  any  other  the  effects  of  slave 
ry  on  the  soil  and  the  population.  There  are  six  coun 
ties  on  the  sea  coast,  —  the  earliest  settled  in  the  State, 
and  the  most  fertile.  If  we  except  the  city  of  Savannah, 
whose  prosperity  depends  on  the  interior,  the  whole 
number  of  whites  in  the  six  counties  is  less  than  ten 
thousand.  There  are  also  six  counties  bordering  on 
the  northern  line  of  the  State,  some  three  hundred  miles 
in  the  interior,  all  of  them  new,  —  and  yet  they  contain 
a  free  population  of  forty-five  thousand.  A  comparison 
of  the  six  counties  next  in  order,  in  each  section  of  the 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   SLAVERY.  171 

State,  shows  the  same  result.  The  new  counties,  far 
back  from  the  seaboard,  contain  forty-seven  thousand 
whites,  while  the  old  counties,  though  large  in  territory, 
contain  only  fourteen  thousand. 

The  city  of  Darien  also  furnishes  an  illustration  of 
the  same  truth.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  Georgia, 
having  been  settled  by  some  Scotch  Highlanders  in  1736. 
It  was  once  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  before  the 
lands  in  the  lower  counties  had  been  exhausted,  it  had 
an  extensive  trade  in  produce.  But  the  country  around 
it  has  become  sterile  and  barren,  and  the  trade  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  State  has  been  diverted  to  Savan 
nah  and  Charleston  by  the  construction  of  railroads. 
The  result  is  that  Darien  has  become  like  an  old,  de 
serted  castle,  dilapidated  and  decayed.  Though  a  port 
of  entry,  its  whole  shipping  in  1852  was  306  tons  reg 
istered,  and  859  enrolled.  And  during  the  same  year 
its  foreign  arrivals  were  only  three ! 

Under  a  free  labor  system  this  would  have  been  a 
large  and  prosperous  city.  It  is  situated  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Altamaha  river,  which,  with  its  tributaries,  the 
Oconee  and  the  Ocmulgee,  furnishes  more  than  three 
hundred  miles  of  inland  navigation,  through  a  country 
all  of  it  once,  and  much  of  it  still  fertile,  abounding  in 
extensive  forests  of  oak  and  pine.  That  an  old  city, 
surrounded  with  such  advantages,  should  be  reduced  to 
a  pitiable  village,  with  only  550  inhabitants,  is  a  prob 
lem  that  nothing  but  slavery  can  solve  ! 

The  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  exhibits  another  illus 
tration,  of  a  different  kind,  though  not  less  striking. 


172  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

There  are  few  cities  that  surpass  this  in  beauty ;  and  it 
has  extensive  advantages  for  business.  Connected  by 
railroad  with  the  principal  towns  in  North  Carolina,  the 
northern  part  of  Georgia,  and  Tennessee,  it  has  some 
permanent  sources  of  prosperity.  It  exports  more  rice 
than  any  other  city  in  the  Union,  and  more  cotton  than 
any  other  except  New  Orleans  and  Mobile. 

But  though  Charleston  has  been  increasing,  the  large 
county  of  the  same  name,  of  which  it  is  the  center,  con 
taining  1900  square  miles,  once  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  productive  in  the  State,  is  decreasing  in  popula 
tion.  In  1840  it  was  82,  000,  and  1850  only  72,000, 
though  the  city  during  that  time  increased  from  29,000 
to  42,000.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  this  county,  exclusive 
of  the  city,  contained  in  1840  a  population  of  53,000, 
and  in  1850  only  30,000.  A  decrease  of  23,000  in  ten 
years !  Such  has  always  been  the  history  of  slave  coun 
tries.  Their  temporary  prosperity,  sometimes  dazzling 
and  brilliant,  is  but  a  prelude  to  approaching  decay  and 
ruin.  It  soon 

"Touches  the  highest  point  of  all  its  greatness, 
And  from  the  full  meridian  of  its  glory, 
It  hastens  to  its  setting." 


NO  SYMPATHY  FOR  SLAVES. 


"  Thou  art  come  to  answer 
A  stony  adversary,  an  inhuman  wretch, 
Incapable  of  pity,  void  and  empty 
From  every  drachm  of  mercy."  SHAKESPEARE. 

THE  slaveholders  manifest  little  regard  for  the  happi 
ness  of  the  slaves.  It  may  not  be  evident  to  them  all, 
but  still  it  is  true,  that  the  family  training,  the  intellect 
ual  discipline,  the  circulating  intelligence  of  the  slave 
States,  are  not  such  as  to  open  in  the  heart  and  mind  of 
the  master  a  single  well-spring  of  generous  sympathy 
for  them,  —  even  in  times  of  bereavement,  of  deepest 
sorrow;  or  when  suffering  the  anguish  of  severe  pun 
ishment,  or  even  when  in  the  agonies  of  death,  in  its 
most  terrible  forms !  This  is  not  always  apparent,  ex 
cept  where  none  but  slaveholders  are  present  to  witness 
the  death-struggle  of  their  victims,  —  or  where  the  slave 
is  made  to  suffer  publicly,  as  a  warning  to  others. 

I  left  the  hotel  in  M.  after  breakfast  on  a  December 
morning,  and  walked  a  few  miles  along  the  bank  of  the 
Flint  river.  Ascending  a  small  sand  hill,  I  saw,  after 


174  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

reaching  the  top,  a  negro  coming  up  on  the  other  side, 
slowly,  wearily,  without  a  particle  of  clothing  on.  When 
he  saw  me,  he  was  frightened  and  ran  out  to  a  willow 
tree  that  lay  bent  down,  nearly  horizontally,  over  the 
stream;  and  turning  about,  he  leaned  against  a  limb, 
looking  at  me,  and  tossing  up  his  hands,  he  exclaimed, 
imploringly,  "  0,  Goddy,  master  !" 

I  supposed  he  intended  to  request  me  not  to  betray 
him ;  and  I  said  to  him,  "  I  will  not  betray  you,  Cuffee  !" 
But  before  I  had  time  to  inquire  into  his  history,  two 
hounds  came  over  another  hill,  half  a  mile  distant,  dis 
tinctly  in  view,  on  a  straight  road.  Soon  as  the  baying 
of  the  dogs  reached  the  ear  of  the  fugitive,  he  leaped 
from  the  willow  into  the  river  —  swam  a  Ions:  distance 
under  water  towards  the  opposite  bank,  when  he  arose 
to  the  surface.  I  was  surprised  to  see  how  directly  he 
swam  across,  as  the  waters  were  cold,  and  the  current 
strong.  I  saw  him  emerge  upon  the  opposite  side,  climb 
an  oak  tree,  and  seat  himself  on  a  limb.  The  hounds 
came  on  slowly,  following  the  track,  —  and  well  they 
might,  for  the  blood  of  the  slave  was  left  in  nearly  every 
footstep  —  keeping  up  a  constant  baying.  I  had  heard 
of  "  the  baying  of  hounds,"  but  I  had  never  conceived 
how  appalling  the  blood-thirsty  tones  were,  until  they 
fell  on  my  ear,  while  I  saw  their  victim,  weary  and  help 
less,  with  no  longer  any  hope  of  escape. 

The  dogs  came  up  the  hill  where  I  stood,  followed  the 
track  out  upon  the  willow,  plunged  in  where  the  man 
did,  swam  across,  and  ran  up  to  the  tree,  baying  loudly 
in  the  triumph  of  success.  I  walked  out  to  the  willow 


NO    SYMPATHY   FOR   SLAVES.  175 

and  sat  down  upon  it  in  sadness  of  heart  at  what  my 
eyes  had  seen,  and  my  ears  heard.  Soon  two  white  men 
came  over  the  farther  hill  on  horse  back,  and  when  they 
saw  the  man  in  the  tree,  and  heard  the  dogs  baying  be 
neath  it,  they  set  up  a  tremendous  shout,  and  rode  on  at 
full  speed  down  to  the  tavern,  three  miles  below.  Think 
ing  it  might  be  unsafe  for  me  to  remain  and  watch  the 
late  of  the  slave,  whom  I  had  no  power  to  assist,  I  re 
turned  to  the  tavern.  Here  I  found  a  large  crowd  of 
men  who  had  gathered  around  the  bar  to  receive  a  "  treat " 
from  the  "  nigger  hunters,"  who  always  have  that  kind 
of  glorification  when  the  man  is  captured  alive.  It  was 
now  about  nine  o'clock,  yet  they  continued  to  drink  un 
til  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  before  they  went  over 
the  river  to  take  the  man  down. 

And  what  astonished  me  more  than  any  thing  else, 
was,  that  no  man  suggested  that  it  was  time  to  go  and 
bring  the  slave  in.  I  heard  no  question  asked  as  to  how 
long  he  had  been  without  food,  how  far  he  had  run,  or 
whether  he  was  so  famished  and  exhausted  that  he  would 
be  likely  to  fall  from  the  tree  and  be  rent  in  pieces  by 
the  dogs.  But  the  conversation  ran  mainly  upon  the 
feats  they  had  performed  in  the  negro  hunts,  and  the  pun 
ishments  the  runaways  get  when  they  are  caught.  Fin 
ally,  after  seven  hours  of  rioting,  they  rode  away.  What 
became  of  their  poor  victim  I  never  learned. 

The  hound  is  taught  to  regard  the  slave  as  his  natural 
enemy.  The  slave  is  never  allowed  to  chastize  him.  If 
the  dog  is  stealing  his  dinner,  he  may  push  him  away 
gently,  or  pull  his  dinner  away  from  him,  —  but  he  must 


176  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVEBY. 

not  venture  to  pull  his  cars,  or  scold  him,  or  strike  him, 
on  pain  of  being  whipped  himself  by  his  master. 

I  saw  a  slaveholder  near  M.  teaching  puppies  to  hunt 
slaves.  He  was  the  owner  of  a  slave  mother  and  her 
little  boy,  Harry,  who  was  about  four  years  old.  The 
mother  was  a  light  quadroon,  having  just  enough  of  Af 
rican  blood  to  wave  the  long  black  hair,  and  gloss  the 
full,  black  eye.  There  are  large  numbers  of  such  slave 
girls  in  the  South,  and  a  foreigner  has  truly  said  that 
they  are  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  American 
women.  But  her  little  Harry  was  not  so  light  colored, 
and  he  had  rough,  hard,  features.  He  was  a  very  sensi 
ble  boy,  roguish  and  reckless,  and  he  acted  as  though  the 
bad  blood  of  all  his  ancestors  ran  in  his  veins.  His 
"  bump  of  destructiveness"  was  very  large,  and  it  very 
often  cost  him  a  flogging.  He  killed  all  the  kittens 
about  house,  all  the  chickens  he  could  catch,  broke  all 
the  eggs  he  could  find,  destroyed  all  the  crockery  he 
could  lay  hold  of,  and  left  his  mark  on  every  piece  of 
furniture  in  the  house,  and  on  every  tool  and  carriage  on 
the  premises. 

He  had  a  peculiar  dislike  to  turkies.  No  turkey  could 
be  raised,  except  in  a  yard  with  a  fence  so  high  that 
Harry  could  not  climb  it.  A  close,  high  fence  was  made 
around  the  turkey  yard,  and  they  were  regarded  as  se 
cure  from  the  enemy.  But  Harry  ran  a  little  pole  up  to 
the  top  of  the  fence,  climbed  up,  jumped  in,  and  killed 
thirteen  turkies  —  a  mother  and  twelve  little  ones.  In 
his  haste  to  kill  the  turkies,  he  forgot  to  run  the  pole 
over  on  the  inside,  so  that  he  could  get  out ;  and  being 


NO    SYMPATHY    FOR    SLATES.  177 

obliged  to  call  for  help,  the  "  murder  was  out."  Sainbo 
opened  the  door  to  release  him,  and  seeing  the  turkies 
killed,  he  ran  into  the  house  and  told  his  master.  Har 
ry  had  been  indulged  quite  enough  by  his  master,  as  he 
was  an  idol,  only  son  of  his  mother,  "  Hatty."  And  she 
was  the  favorite  slave  of  her  master,  Col.  V.,  who  had 
uniformly  regarded  the  feelings  of  the  tender-hearted, 
doting  mother  so  far  as  not  to  punish  Harry  in  her 
presence.  But  this  provocation  threw  him  into  a  pas 
sion. 

"  Hatty ! "  exclaimed  the  master,  "  go  and  bring  the  lit 
tle  devil  to  me." 

Hatty  went  out  and  led  in  Harry,  who  appeared  quite 
self-possessed,  and  without  fear  of  punishment.  But 
his  mother  saw  that  her  master  was  enraged,  and  imag 
ining  some  terrible  thing  was  contemplated  in  the  use  of 
the  knife,  which  Col.  Y.  held  in  one  hand,  while  he  reach 
ed  out  the  other  and  exclaimed  passionately,  "  hand  him 
to  me!  I'll  fix  him!"  she  ventured  to  say  —  "don't 
master !  don't  cut  him  with  the  knife  !  " 

"  Hold  your  tongue  !  "  said  the  master,  "  and  set  the 
boy  on  my  knee,  and  hold  him  still ! " 

Grasping  one  ankle  with  the  left  hand,  he  commenced 
cuting  small  gashes  through  the  skin  on  the  bottom  of 
the  foot.  Harry  strove  like  a  hero,  kicked  and  squirmed  ; 
struck  his  master  in  the  face,  and  pulled  his  hair ;  but 
he  succeeded  in  cutting  both  feet  till  the  blood  ran  freely  ! 

Col.  Y.  then  told  his  son  to  lead  Harry  out  around 
the  stable,  by  a  circuitous  route,  to  a  low,  pine  tree,  to 


178  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

which  he  pointed,  about  twenty  rods  distant.  Hatty  was 
ordered  to  cut  up  a  plate  of  raw  beef  in  small  pieces, 
and  bring  it  to  him. 

The  Col.  took  the  plate  of  meat  in  his  hand,  went 
to  the  kennel  and  unchained  the  mother  of  seven  blood 
hound  puppies,  and  led  her  around  on  the  track  of  Harry, 
with  the  puppies  following  after.  At  every  few  steps 
he  dropped  a  piece  of  the  meat,  on  the  blood  which  was 
left  in  Harry's  track,  for  the  puppies  to  eat,  where  they 
would  receive  the  scent  of  the  blood  of  the  slave  !  When 
he  arrived  at  the  tree,  he  sent  his  son  back  with  the 
mother  of  the  puppies,  while  they  remained  to  eat  the 
meat  given  to  them  under  the  tree.  Harry  was  taken 
down  from  the  limb  on  which  he  sat,  and  the  little  hounds 
were  taught  to  bite  his  feet,  around  which  pieces  of  meat 
were  thrown.  Hatty,  in  the  meantime,  was  wringing 
her  hands  as  if  her  heart  were  bursting,  and  as  though 
she  had  forgotten  that  she  was  a  favorite  house  servant, 
and  had  a  kind,  indulgent  master. 

One  day  while  I  was  in  the  city  of  M.;  there  was  a 
terrible  outcry  in  the  streets  ! 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"  A  negro  in  the  creek ! " 

«  Where  ?  " 

"  Out  over  the  railroad  bridge." 

And  all  the  city  rushed  into  the  street,  and  over  the 
bridge.  I  followed  on  with  the  crowd.  Besides  the  ne 
gro,  two  hounds  were  in  the  creek  also,  endeavoring  to 
catch  him.  He  would  dive  and  swim  a  Ions:  distance 


NO    SYMPATHY   FOR   SLAVES.  179 

under  water,  so  deep  that  the  dogs  could  not  see  the  di 
rection  he  took;  but  when  he  raised  his  head  above 
water  to  breathe,  the  dogs  swam  towards  him  and  seized 
his  limbs  and  held  on  till  he  jerked  them  away,  leaving 
his  flesh  in  their  teeth.  Soon  his  pursuers  were  seen 
coming  from  the  woods,  and  he  perceived  that  farther 
attempts  to  elude  them  were  vain,  and  he  came  out  of 
the  creek  and  gave  himself  up  to  the  hunters.  Two  of 
them  dismounted,  and  took  him,  one  by  either  arm,  to 
lead  him  over  the  bridge  into  the  city,  in  the  midst  of 
the  vast,  exulting  multitude. 

A  friend  of  mine,  an  intelligent  Xew  England  mer 
chant,  was  present.  He  expressed  to  me  his  astonish 
ment  that  no  sympathy  was  manifested  for  the  suffering 
slave,  whose  bare  limbs  were  horridly  lacerated  by  the 
dogs.  And  what  most  shocked  his  feelings,  as  the  men 
were  leading  him,  was  to  hear  the  boys  tell  the  dogs  to 
bite  him  —  saying,  "  seek  him !  take  him ! "—  just  as  they 
would  set  dogs  on  swine  in  the  street,  and  with  as  little 
pity. 

The  negro  pretended  to  be  so  weak  that  he  could 
hardly  walk ;  but  when  about  on  the  center  of  the  bridge, 
lie  prostrated  one  of  the  men  who  were  holding  his 
arms  —  broke  away  from  the  grasp  of  the  other  —  rushed 
through  the  crowd  —  bounded  over  the  railing,  and  sank 
in  the  red  waters  of  the  river,  to  rise  no  more.  No 
word  of  pity  was  heard,  —  no  emotions  of  sympathy 
were  witnessed,  for  the  sufferings  and  fate  of  this  man, 
who  had  less  fear  of  death  than  of  his  brother  man ! 


180  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

But  the  air  was  filled  with  curses  on  "  runaway  niggers," 
and  a  grand  chorus  of  invectives  against  abolitionists 
concluded  the  awful  tragedy  1 

A   WHITE   MOTHER   FOR   SALE. 

Mr.  C.,  a  dry  goods  merchant  of  Boston,  was  with 
me  at  the  little  city  of  M.,  where  he  went  to  visit  a  part 
ner  in  trade.  He  had  not  been  in  a  slave  State  before, 
and  was  bitterly  opposed  to  emancipation.  Two  mer 
chants —  slaveholders  —  had  been  in  our  company  on 
the  way  to  that  city.  Whenever  slavery  was  talked  of, 
Mr.  C.  uniformly  concurred  with  them.  The  next  morn 
ing  after  we  arrived,  we  saw  a  handbill  in  the  bar-room 
in  which  'forty-four  female  slaves  were  advertised  for 
sale.  Stepping  out  into  the  street,  we  found  those  girls 
sitting  on  the  sidewalks.  At  the  farther  end  of  the  row 
was  a  very  beautiful  girl,  apparently  perfectly  white,  and 
neatly  dressed.  The  moment  Mr.  C.  looked  at  her,  he 
exclaimed,  "  What  do  you  think  that  white  girl  is  sitting 
there  with  those  negroes  for  ?  " 

"  I  presume  she  is  a  slave,  sir,"  said  I. 

"That  can't  be!"  replied  Mr.  C., —  "just  look  at 
her !  Why  I  never  saw  a  prettier  girl  in  my  life." 

Now  Mr.  C.  had  heard  that  likely  quadroons  are  held 
as  slaves  and  sold  in  the  market ;  but  he  had  never  be 
lieved  that  a  young  lady,  so  entirely  American,  so  ele 
gant  in  form  and  feature,  so  intellectual  in  appearance, 
with  pure  blue  eyes,  and  the  perfect  red  and  white  Cau- 
cassian  complexion,  was  in  the  same  degraded  condition 


NO    SYMPATHY  FOR   SLAVES.  181 

as  the  African  girl.  And  his  fine  sensibilities  were 
greatly  shocked  at  the  idea,  that  a  white  girl,  so  beauti 
ful,  was  doomed  to  such  disgrace.  His  heart  was  steeled 
against  sympathy  for  the  blacks,  but  it  was  unshielded 
on  the  side  towards  the  white  race,  to  which  his  mother, 
wife,  an-d  daughter  belonged.  Hence  he  was  unprepared 
to  believe  it,  when  I  said  to  him,  "  she  is  a  slave,  sir  /  " 

There  was  the  precise  number,  including  her,  adver 
tised  in  the  bill.  Still  incredulous,  Mr.  C.  stepped  up 
to  the  drover  and  asked,  "Is  that  white  girl  a  slave, 
sir?" 

"  That 's  not  a  white  girl ;  she  is  a  nigger,  sir,1'  replied 
the  drover. 

Mr.  C.  bit  his  lips  with  suppressed  indignation, 
paused,  and  then  ejaculated,  "  Is  it  possible  1 " 

"  Does  she  belong  to  you?  "  said  he  to  the  drover. 

"  Yes,  sir  I ''  replied  the  drover. 

"  What  do  you  ask  for  her  ?  "  inquired  Mr.  C. 

"  I  was  offered  1800  dollars  for  her  last  night.  I  want 
2000  for  her." 

"  What  do  you  ask  for  that  one  ?  "  said  Mr.  C.,  point- 
ing  to  a  light  quadroon  sitting  next  to  the  white  girl. 

« I  will  take  $1,200  for  her." 

"Well,  —  how  much  for  the  black  ones,  here  at  this 
end  of  the  row?" 

"  I  will  take  $800  apiece,"  replied  the  slave-dealer. 

"  Why  can  that  white  girl  — 

"  That  isn't  a  white  girl ;  that 's  a  nigger ,  sir,  I  tell 
you/'  interrupted  the  drover,  contemptuously.  At  the 
same  time  he  removed  a  woolen  cap  from  her  head, 
16 


182  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

which  exposed  the  light  brown  hair,  and  added,  "you 
see  her  hair  is  waved." 

This  is  regarded  as  evidence  that  African  "blood  is 
mingled  with  the  white.  Mr.  C.  had  now  become  excit 
ed,  and  he  exclaimed  —  "  Well,  then,  can  that  white  nig 
ger  do  more  work  than  one  of  your  black  niggers,  that 
you  ask  so  much  more  for  her  ?  " 

"  Oh  no  ;  "  replied  the  drover,  —  and  perceiving  that 
Mr.  0.  did  not  comprehend  the  superior  value  of  female 
beauty  to  physical  ability  in  a  slave,  he  added  —  "but 
you  know  she  is  a  high  priced  fancy  girl." 

"By  heavens!"  vociferated  Mr.  C.,  "'tis  too  bad!" 
and  turning  to  me  with  his  clinched  hands  raised  towards 
the  heavens,  he  added,  "  I  will  never  say  another  word 
against  the  abolitionists,  so  long  as  God  lets  me  live ! " 

We  inquired  of  those  mothers,  how  many  children 
they  had  left  behind;  and  the  aggregate  number  —  as 
by  them  reported  —  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  ! 
They  were  all  enrolled  as  being  between  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  twenty-five,  in  the  advertising  catalogue. 
Forty-four  young  mothers  severed  from  their  husbands 
acd  all  their  children  at  a  single  blow ! ! ! 

I  became  acquainted  with  a  good  slave  boy,  "Bill," 
owned  by  A.  S.,  in  South  Carolina.  He  was  a  cruel 
master,  worked  his  slaves  very  hard,  and  gave  them  only 
a  peck  of  corn  a  week.  I  asked  Bill  if  he  ever  knew 
a  slave  to  get  a  whipping  when  he  did  not  deserve  it. 

"  Well,  master,"  replied  Bill,  u  I  will  tell  you  the  cause 
for  which  I  had  a  terrible  whipping,  and  I  will  let  you 
decide  whether  it  was  deserved.  Our  driver's  name 


KG    SYMPATHY   FOR    SLAVES.  183 

was  Monday, —  a  colored  man.  One  clay  I  heard  Mon 
day  say  that  if  master  S.  did  not  treat  him  better,  ho 
meant  to  rim  away.  Now  I  loved  Uncle  Monday,  —  as 
we  called  him  —  and  I  ran  up  to  him  and  said,  thought 
lessly, —  without  any  more  intention  of  running  away 
than  I  had  of  killing  myself — i  if  you  run  away,  I  mean 
to  run  away  too  ! ' 

"  The  master  was  listening  outside  the  hut  —  as  slave 
holders  often  are,  to  hear  what  is  said  by  the  slaves  —  and 
he  heard  me.  He  rushed  into  the  hut  in  a  terrible  pas 
sion,  caught  me  by  the  throat,  kicked  me,  and  threw  me 
down,  and  beat  me,  —  crying  out  at  intervals,  with  ter 
rific  oaths  — l  You  want  to  run  away,  do  you !  I  '11  give 
you  enough  of  running  away!  I'll  learn  Old  Monday 
better  than  to  spoil  all  my  young  niggers  ! ' 

11  After  he  had  beaten  me  awhile  in  the  hut,  he  drag 
ged  me  out,  and  called  a  large  man  to  come  and  help  tie 
me  up  to  a  timber  that  projected  from  the  eaves  ol  the 
house.  He  then  tied  my  feet  together,  and  thrusting  a 
rail  between  them  to  keep  me  from  swinging,  he  climbed 
up,  and  with  a  rope  fastened  to  my  wrists,  he  drew  me 
up  until  my  feet  were  raised  from  the  earth.  Every 
particle  of  my  ragged  garments  had  been  stripped  from 
my  body,  —  and  he  ordered  one  of  the  house  girls  to 
bring  him  the  whip.  When  the  girl  came  with  it,  he 
told  her  to  go  back  and  bring  a  quart  of  salt.  The  salt 
was  brought,  and  he  dissolved  it  in  water.  Then  he 
took  off  his  coat,  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  and  seized  the 
whip  —  the  staff  of  which  was  four  or  five  feet  long, 
made  of  white  oak,  covered  with  raw  hide,  the  butt 


184  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

about  two  inches  thick,  loaded  with  lead,  and  the  lash 
at  least  six  feet  long,  with  several  inches  of  the  end 
wrought  into  hard  knots  with  catgut.  With  this  instru 
ment  I  was  whipped  until  the  master  became  tired,  when 
he  commanded  the  slave  to  continue  to  flog  me  until 
I  had  received  one  hundred  lashes.  Several  times  dur 
ing  this  flogging  I  fainted  away.  The  whipping  was  sus 
pended,  and  cold  water  thrown  upon  me  until  I  recovered, 
when  it  was  resumed.  I  should  judge  they  were  whip 
ping  me  nearly  an  hour.  The  salt  and  water  was  then 
thrown  upon  me,  and  coals  of  fire  would  not  have  given 
me  more  unutterable  torment." 

I  became  acquainted  with  another  slave  boy  called 
"Jack,"  in  the  State  of  S.  Carolina,,  who  was  highly 
spoken  of  by  every  one  that  knew  him  Jack's  master, 
J.  K,.,  was  always  kind  when  sober  —  but  never  when  in 
toxicated.  One  day  he  whipped  Jack  severely  for  run 
ning  away, 

"  In  a  few  days  after  this  whipping."  said  Jack,  as  he 
was  giving  me  a  short  history  of  his  life,  "  I  told  a  slave, 
in  confidence,  that  I  meant  to  run  away  again.  He  be 
trayed  me,  and  informed  Master  of  my  purpose.  This 
greatly  enraged  him,  and  he  sent  for  a  neighboring 
planter  and  his  overseer  to  come  and  whip  me.  The 
first  intimation  I  had  of  it,  the  overseer  rushed  into  the 
hut,  and  struck  me  over  the  face  with  the  but  of  his 
whip,  cutting  my  cheek  through  to  the  bone,  —  and  the 
scar  is  still  a  witness  to  the  deed.  Then  they  tied  me, 
and  carried  me  into  the  yard,  and  my  master  and  the 
overseer  both  whipped  me  at  the  same  time. 


NO    SYMPATHY   FOR   SLAVES.  185 

<•'  When  slaves  are  -whipped,  they  usually  make  a  great 
ado,  for  the  purpose  of  mitigating  the  punishment.  If  they 
cry  out  piteously,  saying  <c/o,  pray  Massa,  forgive  me,  I  '11 
do  work  better/  &c.,  —  they  usually  get  a  less  number 
of  lashes.  So  at  this  time  I  said  every  thing  I  could 
think  of.  When  I  cried  loud  for  forgiveness,  they  would 
tauntingly  reply  — l  you  've  learned  to  halloo  at  the  night 
meetings,  have  you  ? ' —  meaning  religious  meetings.  And 
they  crammed  old  rags  into  my  mouth,  so  that  I  could 
not  be  heard  across  the  street. 

"  After  the  whipping  was  finished,  the  flaying  paddle 
was  applied,  and  I  was  then  taken  to  the  barn-yard  and 
chained  to  the  sill  of  the  barn,  ha\ing  the  chain  locked 
around  my  neck.  They  raked  up  some  corn  husks  for 
me  to  lie  on,  but  niy  back  and  sides  were  so  sore  I  could 
not  lie  down,  but  was  obliged  to  lean  against  the  barn, 
in  which  miserable  position  1  passed  the  long,  dreary, 
suffering,  sleepless  night !  In  the  morning  I  was  tied 
upon  a  horse,  and  driven  four  miles,  to  be  ironed.  The 
blacksmith  took  some  old  ox  shoes  and  beat  them  to 
gether,  in  the  shape  of  two  half  moons,  and  riveted  them 
at  the  corners,  so  as  to  lit  the  ankle,  stood  me  upon  the 
anvil,  and  fastened  them  on.  I  was  then  set  to  hoeing 
cotton  again,  and  ten  rows  were  added  to  my  daily  task." 


XVII. 

SOUTHERN  JURISPRUDENCE. 


"  It  well  becomes  the  judge  to  nod  at  crimes, 
That  does  commit  greater  himself." 

TOURNEITR. 

"  Do  not  your  juries  give  their  verdict, 
As  if  they  felt  the  cause,  —  not  heard  it  ? 
And  as  they  please,  make  every  fact 
Run  all  one  side,  —  as  they  are  packed  ?  " 

BUTLER. 

THAT  there  are  able  lawyers  in  the  South,  no  one  will 
deny.  There  are  also  some  eminent  judges,  whose  legal 
learning  and  sense  of  justice  go  hand  in  hand.  In  this 
respect,  however,  there  is  a  difference  in  the  Southern 
States.  The  northern  slave  States  have  a  better  system 
of  jurisprudence  than  the  southern,  —  if  we  except  Lou 
isiana,  which  stands  far  better  than  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
and  Georgia.  But  aside  from  any  individual  exceptions, 
the  administration  of  justice  throughout  the  South  is 
far  more  imperfect  and  partial  than  it  is  in  the  North. 
The  slaveholders  are  an  aristocracy,  holding  the  offices, 
enacting  the  laws,  and,  as  judges  or  sheriffs,  controlling 
their  execution.  And  so  much  does  the  spirit  of  caste 
enter  into  all  the  institutions  of  the  slave  States,  that 


SOUTHERN   JURISPRUDENCE.  187 

favoritism  is  often  a  predominant  principle,  even  within 
the  temples  of  justice.  The  trial  and  acquittal  of  Ward 
in  Kentucky  is  a  prominent  illustration ;  and  no  one  can 
spend  much  time  in  the  South  without  observing  numer 
ous  ^incidents  of  a  like  character. 

A  Southern  writer  has  recently  boasted  that  there  is 
less  crime  in  the  South  than  in  the  North,  —  appealing 
to  the  number  of  convictions  and  imprisonments  reported, 
as  evidence  of  it.  But  no  such  inference  can  be  drawn 
from  this  fact  —  as  I  shall  abundantly  show.  Prisons 
in  the  South  are  indeed  few  and  poor,  compared  with 
those  of  the  North,  and  the  inmates  less  in  number ; 
but  this  is  not  because  crime  is  not  more  frequent,  but 
because  it  goes  unpunished. 

The  crimes  of  slaves  are  not  often  made  a  matter  of 
trial  and  punishment  in  the  Southern  courts.  The  mas 
ter  is  the  judge,  the  jury,  and  the  executioner.  That  the 
slaves  are  often  guilty  of  crimes  is  just  what  we  might 
expect.  Aside  from  the  vicious  examples  of  unbridled 
passion  and  indulgence  which  are  constantly  before  them, 
and  of  which  they  are  often  the  victims,  —  their  igno 
rance  and  degradation,  the  smothering  of  all  the  better 
feelings  in  their  natures,  the  extinguishing  of  all  those 
hopes  and  aspirations  which  tend  to  elevate  and  purify 
the  heart,  while  the  baser  elements  are  left  free  and  un 
checked,  and  often  strengthened  by  the  wrongs  they 
suffer,  all  contribute  to  brutalize  and  degrade  them. 
And  when  I  have  learned  of  their  committing  revolting 
crimes,  instead  of  being  surprised,  I  have  wondered  that 
the  instances  are  not  far  more  frequent. 


188  INSIDE  VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

The  ceaseless,  unremitting  toil  of  the  slaves  undoubt 
edly  tends  to  save  them  from  the  commission  of 
crime.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  the  idleness  and  con- 
sequent  dissipation  of  the  slaveholding  class  are  the 
source  of  that  fearful  catalogue  of  offences  of  which  we 
sometimes  catch  a  glimpse.  And  lest  I  might  seem  to 
exaggerate  in  the  incidents  which  I  relate,  I  will  call  the 
reader's  attention  to  an  extract  from  a  recent  lecture  of 
Rev.  James  A.  Lyon,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  Columbus,  Mississippi,  published  in  the  Eagle,  a 
newspaper  of  that  city,  June  1st,  1855. 

"  The  reckless  manner  in  which  the  sixth  command 
ment,  which  forbids  murder,  is  disregarded  in  this  com 
munity,  is  truly  alarming,  and  should  excite  the  well 
grounded  fears  of  every  friend  of  morality  and  good 
order.  As  proof  that  I  am  not  exaggerating  the  evil, 
I  will  refer  you  to  the  statistical  tables  on  this  subject 
for  the  last  year,  [1854.]  In  the  Daily  Globe  for  Jan 
uary  2d,  1855,  quoted  by  the  New  York  Herald,  the 
following  startling  facts  are  brought  to  light,  viz :  That 
there  have  been  in  the  United  States,  during  the  last 
year,  no  less  than  six  hundred  and  eighty-two  murders  ! 
and  only  eighty-four  executions ;  that  is,  about  one  in 
seven  only  !  Here  is  a  little  army  slain  every  year,  by 
the  hands  of  violence,  in  our  country,  boasting  justly  of 
more  general  intelligence,  freedom,  and  civilization  than 
any  other  upon  the  globe  !  But  let  us  examine  a  little 
this  table  of  blood.  We  find  that,  of  the  murdered  host, 
only  thirty-two  fell  in  the  six  New  England  States,  only 
one  hundred  and  six  others  in  the  Middle  States,  includ- 


SOUTHERN   JURISPRUDENCE.  189 

ing  the  largest  States  and  cities  in  the  Union.  The  blood 
of  all  the  TQst,five  hundred  and  forty-four,  was  spilt  in 
the  South  and  West.  But  let  us  inspect  still  more 
closely  this  record  of  crime.  Of  this  remaining  army, 
five  hundred  and  forty-four  strong,  that  have  fallen  in 
the  South  and  West,  three  hundred  and  forty-six  have 
been  slaughtered  in  the  South  alone ;  that  is,  in  the 
Southern  States  proper,  not  including  Missouri,  there 
have  fallen  more  than  one  half  of  the  whole  of  the  orig 
inal  army !  The  South  has  the  unenviable  distinction 
of  having  slain  a  greater  number  of  their  fellow  men 
with  murderous  hands  than  all  the  other  States,  includ 
ing  even  California,  put  together !  Of  this  number,  I 
am  sorry  to  say  that  as  many  as  thirty-two  have  been 
slaughtered  in  our  own  proud  State  of  Mississippi;* 
that  is,  in  the  State  of  Mississippi  alone,  as  many  human 
beings  have  fallen  by  the  hand  of  violence,  as  in  all  the 
six  New  England  States  put  together  —  States  with  an 
aggregate  population  five  times  as  great  as  that  of.  Mis 
sissippi  !  If  the  New  England  States  had  slain  as  many 
of  their  fellow  men  in  proportion  to  their  population  as 
the  State  of  Mississippi  has  done,  instead  of  murdering 
only  thirty -two :  they  would  have  murdered  five  times 
that  number ! 

"  We  have  no  great  seaport  towns  as  the  places  of 
resort  for  felons  of  other  lands ;  w^e  have  no  foreign 
population  amongst  us,  except  such  as  belong  to  the 


*  The  editor  of  the  Eagle  here  says,  in  a  note,  that  he  a  few  years 
ago  heard  Gov.  H.  S.  Foote  say  that  some  person  hud  been  lulled  with 
in  the  State  every  day  during  his  term  of  office  of  two  years ! 


190  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

better  classes  of  society ;  we  are  not  a  new  and  pioneer 
State ;  and  yet  the  annual  list  of  our  murdered  is  fright 
ful! —  frightful  not  only  on  account  of  the  compara 
tive  number  of  the  slain,  but  also  on  account  of  the 
character  and  standing  of  the  slayers.  If  these  mur 
ders  were  committed  by  vagabonds  and  the  scum  of 
society,  then  its  prestige,  its  moral  effect,  would  not  be 
so  injurious  to  society.  But  what,  think  you,  is  the  effect 
upon  the  minds  of  our  children  and  youth,  when  men  of 
fair  standing  in  society,  received  and  regarded  as  gen 
tlemen,  are  the  perpetrators  of  the  butcheries  ! ! 

"  In  view  of  this  state  of  things,  who  is  safe  ?  My 
enemy  meets  me,  insults  me,  and  then  shoots  me  down, 
professing  to  believe  that  I  was  '  armed]  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  that  his  life  was  in  danger;  tells  his  own 
story  in  a  community  where  it  is  no  strange  thing  for 
men  to  carry  about  their  persons  deadly  weapons.  Each 
one  feels  that  he  would  have  done  the  same  thing  under 
similar  circumstances,  so  that  in  condemning  him  they 
would  but  condemn  themselves.  Consequently,  the  slayer 
is  justified  —  goes  free;  and  a  hundred  others,  our  sons 
and  half  grown  lads  amongst  them,  resolve  in  their 
hearts,  that  since  every  man  may  go  armed,  and  every 
one  is  therefore  justifiable  in  slaying  his  enemy,  they  will 
do  likewise. 

"  1  should  like  to  deprecate  the  influence  of  money  in 
setting  aside  the  law.  It  is  a  shameful  fact  that  no  rich 
man  can  be  hanged  for  murder  in  the  Southwest! 
The  man,  therefore,  who  is  able  to  pay  a  few  thousand 
dollars,  may  indulge  his  dire  revenge  with  impunity. 


SOUTHERN   JURISPRUDENCE.  191 

The  frequency  with  which  slaves  are  killed,  and  the 
little  attention  paid  to  it  by  the  officers  of  the  law,  is  a 
crying  evil,  which  I  had  intended  to  dwell  upon  as  its 
importance  deserves." 

In  commenting  upon  this  lecture,  the  editor  of  the 
Eagle  says  that 

"  The  frequency  of  the  open  and  violent  murders  com 
mitted  in  the  South  and  Southwest,  and  especially  with 
in  our  own  State,  is  the  most  remarkable,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  most  disgraceful,  characteristic  of  our 
section  of  the  country.  And  it  is  equally  strange  and 
astonishing  to  us,  that,  instead  of  diminishing,  as  the 
tone  of  our  society  improves  and  the  standard  of  civili 
zation  advances,  this  horrid  and  unnatural  offence  against 
humanity,  good  order,  law,  and  morals,  seems  to  be  on 
the  increase. 

"The  pulpit  having  led  the  way  in  the  reform  so 
loudly  called  for  in  regard  to  this  matter,  and  called 
upon  the  press  to  follow  in  the  noble  and  praiseworthy 
enterprise,  we,  for  one,  hesitate  not  a  moment,  but  at 
once  raise  our  voice  and  nerve  our  arm  for  the  conflict 
against,  the  hideous  crime  of  murder,  the  almost  daily 
commission  of  which,  in  some  part  of  our  State,  is 
brought  to  our  knowledge  by,  and  as  regularly  as,  our 
exchanges  are  received." 

The  fact  stated  by  Mr.  Lyon,  — tl  that  no  rich  man 
can  be  hanged  for  murder  in  the  Southwest"  —  may 
appear  strange ;  but  the  manner  of  organizing  a  court 
in  the  Southern  States  is  almost  sure  to  give  impunity 
to  offenders.  Juries,  in  such  cases,  are  empanneled 


192  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

from  the  crowd  of  bystanders,  instead  of  being  selected 
beforehand  by  the  municipal  authorities,  as  they  are  in 
the  North.  How  easy  for  a  wealthy  slaveholder  to  have 
a  score  of  dependents;  from  among  his  poor  neighbors, 
standing  around  the  court-room,  where  the  Judge  or 
the  clerk  will  be  likely  to  call  them  !  This,  more  than 
any  thing  else,  makes  the  administration  of  justice  in 
the  criminal  courts  of  the  South  a  mere  farce. 

I  was  in  Baker  county  when  Dr.  Byrd.  of  Albany, 
killed  a  man  by  the  name  of  Jones.  Sometimes,  when 
a  free  white  man  has  become  obnoxious  to  a  neighbor 
hood  by  constantly  provoking  quarrels  and  going  about 
to  do  evil,  priding  himself  on  being  a  fighter,  the  slave 
holders  will  be  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  arraign  him, 
and  either  punish  him  or  drive  him  off.  Such  a  man 
was  Dr.  Byrd.  He  and  Jones  had  a  falling  out,  and 
Byrd  demanded  of  Jones  a  card  in  the  Albany  Patriot, 
acknowledging  that  he  had  slandered  him.  Jones  took 
the  paper  in  which  the  card  was  published,  and  went  to 
the  tavern  where  Byrd  boarded,  and  showed  him  the 
card.  Byrd  called  for  brandy,  —  a  custom  after  such 
affairs  are  amicably  adjusted.  While  sipping  the  liq 
uor  —  as  the  landlord  assured  me  —  Jones  patted  Byrd 
on  the  shoulder  and  remarked,  facetiously, 

"  The  biggest  lie  I  ever  told  in  my  life,  Byrd,  was 
when  I  said  here  in  this  card  that  I  lied  about  you ;  for 
you  know  every  word  that  I  had  said  was  true." 

"  You  are  a  liar  and  a  villain ! "  said  Byrd,  seizing  his 
pistol. 

Jones  drew  Ms  knife,  and  cut  Byrd  severely  in  several 


SOUTHERN    JURISPRUDENCE.  193 

places.  But  Byrd  shot  him  through  the  heart.  He 
made  one  bound  from  the  bar-room  into  the  street,  and 
expired. 

Byrd  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Xewton  jail.  It  was 
reported  in  the  papers  that  he  had  poisoned  himself  in 
the  jail.  But  instead  of  that,  he  returned  to  Albany 
the  next  day,  and  in  a  short  time  he  was  established  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Alabama. 

Having  business  with  R.  K.  Hines,  Esq.,  a  popular 
lawyer  in  the  city  of  Albany,  I  inquired  of  him,  after 
Byrd  was  carried  to  the  jail,  if  he  would  be  hung. 

'•  Hung  !  my  dear  sir  ? "  said  Mr.  II.  u  We  have  more 
cases  on  the  docket  in  this  county  now,  for  murder,  than 
can  be  tried  during  the  next  ten  years.  So  that  all 
Byrd's  lawyer  would  have  to  do,  in  order  to  postpone 
a  trial,  would  be  to  call  up  former  cases  before  this." 

"Is  that  possible,  Mr.  Hines?"  said  I. 

"Why,  let  me  tell  you,"  replied  Mr.  H,,  "while  we 
were  trying  a  man  for  murder  at  the  last  court  at  Stark- 
ville,  the  next  county  seat  above,  two  murders  were 
committed  within  gun-shot  of  that  court  house." 

Soon  after  this,  I  was  in  the  stage,  passing  through 
Starkville.  A  young  man  stepped  out  of  the  coach 
when  it  stopped. 

"  That  was  John  Ross,"  remarked  a  passenger,  as  the 
coach  wheeled  around  to  start  again. 

fi  Yes,"  said  another,  "  John  Ross  that  killed  his  father 
here  ! " 

'•And  was  never  complained  of!"  responded  a  third. 

'•John  Ross,"  said  Col.  L.,  "wanted  to  marry  one  of 
17 


194  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

his  father's  negro  girls."  And  he  proceeded  to  relate 
the  facts  as  they  had  occurred. 

John  was  an  only  child  of  a  rich  slaveholder.  His 
father  was  bitterly  opposed  to  this  freak  of  his  son, 
and  he  told  him  that  he  would  not  consent  to  have  tho 
blood  corrupted  in  this  manner,  But  John  replied  that 
he  loved  the  black  girl,  and  intended  to  marry  her. 

Now  John  was  not  peculiar  in  this  fancy.  Slavehold 
ers  very  frequently  marry  the  quadroon  girls, —  and 
some  of  them  select  the  full  blooded  Africans  for  their 
wives.  Mr.  A.,  the  city  surveyor  in  D.,  lost  a  white  wife, 
and  he  then  emancipated  his  black  female  cook,  and 
married  her.  So  that  John  Ross  was  not  the  first  white 
man  who  had  desired  such  a  connubial  relation.  But 
his  father  was  invincibly  opposed  to  his  wishes ;  and  ho 
informed  his  son  that  if  he  persisted  in  his  foolish  pur 
pose  to  marry  that  "nigger/'  he  would  disown  and  dis 
inherit  him.  And  when  all  arguments  had  failed,  and 
John  finally  assured  the  old  gentleman  that  his  purpose 
was  fixed  to  marry  that  girl,  the  father  banished  him 
from  his  house. 

John  took  lodgings  in  a  public  house,  near  by.  His 
mother  had  been  dead  several  years,  and  now  the  father 
sat  solitary  and  alone,  without  an  heir.  He  had  great 
possessions,  and  he  knew  he  must  shortly  leave  them. 
And  to  whom  ?  "  Poor  John !  Foolish  son  /  "  he  said 
to  himself.  "  I  will  call  him  home,  and  make  one  more 
attempt  to  bring  him  back  to  regard  the  honor  of  the 
family,  for  his  blessed  mother's  sake."  And  the  father 
sent  his  son  a  note,  stating  that  he  desired  to  have  an 


SOUTHERN   JURISPRUDENCE.  195 

interview  with  him,  that  he  might,  if  possible,  dissuade 
him  from  his  rrsh  purpose;  but  at  all  events  to  have  a 
reconciliation. 

'•John  Ross,"  said  Col.  L.,  "loaded  his  rifle,  put  in 
that  kind  letter,  received  from  his  father,  for  wadding, 
and  the  first  time  the  father  stepped  over  the  threshold 
of  his  own  door,  he  was  shot  dead  by  that  unnatural 
son!" 

John  was  a  chivalrous/-  dead  shot "  Southron.  No 
body  dared  enter  a  complaint  against  him  for  the  mur 
der  of  his  father.  Besides,  young  John,  —  now  made  sole 
proprietor  of  a  large  estate  by  this  heroic  deed,  —  gave 
valuable  presents  to  the  slaveholding  neighbors,  and 
public  opinion  made  no  other  or  higher  demand. 

Throughout  the  slave  States,  a  light  value  is  set  upon 
human  life.  The  murderer  has  no  fear  of  punishment, 
if  he  has  wealth  and  rank  to  protect  him.  Slaveholders 
risk  their  lives  on  the  most  fantastic  whim  of  honor. 
We  know  it  to  be  a  false  notion  of  honor,  but  the  South 
ron  regards  it  as  the  highest  ambition  of  his  life  to 
maintain  it.  Hence  the  cold  blooded,  fatal  rencounters 
so  frequent  in  the  South.  This  is  illustrated  by  the 
following  facts,  which  were  stated  in  my  presence  by 
Col.  L.  of  Alabama. 

"  I  was  sitting  at  a  dinner  table  in  Texas,"  said  Col. 
L.,  "  when  two  young  gentlemen  came  in  from  a  hunt 
ing  excursion.  They  walked  up  to  the  sideboard,  took 
a  glass  of  whisky,  and  then  seated  themselves  at  the 
table.  A.  sat  next  to  me,  and  B.  directly  opposite  to 
him.  A.  called  for  some  meat,  but  B.  sat  mute.  I  no- 


196  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

ticcd  there  was  a  malicious,  designing,  murderous  look 
in  his  countenance,  and  I  suspected  that  there  was 
trouble  near.  In  a  few  moments  A.  said  to  B., 

"I  now  ask  you,  sir,  in  the  presence  of  these  gentle 
men,  if  you  will  publicly  retract  the  malicious  slanders 
you  have  put  in  circulation,  seriously  affecting  my  repu 
tation  as  an  honorable  man  and  a  gentleman  ?  " 

"jSTo!"  said  B.  "You  are  a  dishonest  villain,  and  I 
will  never  perjure  myself  to  save  your  reputation !" 

A.  drew  out  a  brace  of  pistols,  threw  them  down  on 
the  table,  and  exclaimed, 

"  Take  your  choice  of  them,  sir !  " 

B.  arose,  took  a  white  handkerchief  from  his  pocket, 
wound  one  corner  of  it  around  the  little  finger  of  his 
left  hand,  tossed  the  other  end  to  his  antagonist,  who 
rose  up,  wound  that  end  around  the  little  finger  of  his 
hand,  like  the  other,  bringing  their  left  hands  within 
six  inches  of  each  other.     Then  each  took  a  pistol  in 
the  right  hand,  pointed  it  directly  at  the  other's  heart, 
and  at  the  word  '  ready '  they  commenced  to  count  the 
usual  number  in  such  cases.     Both  counted,  slowly,  dis 
tinctly,  simultaneously,  '  one — two — three,'  and  so  on  up 
to  'ten.'     Both  pronounced  the  last  number  just  as  plump- 
ly  and  firmly  as  the  first.     When  the  <  ten '  was  uttered, 
the  pistols  were  fired,  and  both  fell !     There  were  about 
sixty  gentlemen  at  dinner,  but  two  of  them  only  —  the 
landlord,  and  another  man  who  was  brother-in-law  to 
one  of  the  murdered  men  —  left  the  table.     The  serv 
ants  dragged  the  hunters  out  into  the  bar  room ;  and 
when  we  went  out,  after  dinner,  they  were  both  dead  1 >v 


SOUTHERN    JURISPRUDENCE.  197 

"Xow  that  was  pretty  cool,  all  around'7  said  tho 
Colonel  to  a  Mississippian  with  whom  he  was  talking. 

Xo  Xorthcrn  man,  who  has  never  seen  men  who  hare 
been  brought  up  in  places  where  they  cannot  read  and 
write  can  imagine  how  vacant-minded  and  stupid  such 
men  appear.  Occasionally  we  see  a  man  at  the  North 
who  cannot  read,  though  very  seldom  among  the  farmers. 
But  when  we  do  find  one  so  ignorant,  he  has  been  as 
sociated  with  men  who  can  read,  and  he  has  consequent 
ly  obtained  a  good  deal  of  information  from  them,  ant] 
ho  seems  much  more  intelligent  than  slaveholders  do 
who  cannot  read  themselves,  and  who  have  not  enjoyed 
the  society  of  those  who  can  read.  I  can  give  no  better 
idea  of  the  impression  made  on  the  mind  of  a  Yankee 
when  looking  upon  a  jury  made  up  of  such  men,  than  by 
describing  an  amusing  scene  that  transpired  in  court,  in 
the  city  of  D. 

A  learned  physician  from  Massachusetts.  Dr.  W.,  and 
a  shipmaster  from  Maine,  Capt.  F.,  with  whom  1  had  a 
favorable  acquaintance  during  a  few  weeks  stay  at  I).. 
will  excuse  this  reference  to  them. 

The  court  house  at  D..  is  divided  in  the  center  by  a 
rail  inn1,  three  feet  high.  In  one  end  of  the  room  the 
court  is  convened,  and  the  other  end  is  reserved  for 
spectators.  There  is  no  scat  in  the  half  assigned  to  the 
latter,  except  a  narrow  scat  around  the  outside  of  the 
area.  The  court  was  in  session  at  the  time  of  our  visit. 
One  of  the  lawyers  was  addressing  the  jury.  I  was 
standing  near  the  passage-way  in  the  railing,  in  the  ccn- 


198  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

tor  of  the  house,  and  Dr.  W.  stood  near  the  door,  look 
ing  upon  the  court,  and  listening  to  the  argument  of  the 
attorney,  when  Capt.  F.  —  a  stout,  rough,  sensible,  down 
east  sea  captain  —  entered  the  room,  and  took  a  stand 
by  the  door  near  to  him.  Perceiving  there  were  va 
cant  seats  on  the  court  side  of  the  railing,  and  none 
very  near  on  our  side,  the  Capt.  said  to  Dr.  W., 

"  Why  can't  we  go  inside,  and  take  a  seat  ?  " 

"Those  seats  belong  to  the  jury,"  replied  the  Dr. 

They  were  rough,  long  seats,  without  backs  or  desks. 

"  But  that  is  not  the  jury,"  said  Capt.  F.,  pointing  to 
the  pale,  puny  looking  fellows  that  occupied  those  seats. 

"  Yes  it  is,  Capt.,"  said  Dr.  W.  "  Don't  you  see  ? 
The  lawyer  is  talking  to  them  now/7 

"  I  know  better  than  that,"  said  Capt.  F.,  casting  a 
"  look  for  breakers  "  over  them  a  second  time. 

He  saw  that  the  jury  paid  little  attention  to  what  the 
lawyer  was  saying  to  them.  They  were  talking  with 
each  other  in  little  squads  of  two  or  three  together,  in 
whispers  so  loud  that  we  could  sometimes  distinguish 
the  half  smothered  oath,  followed  by  a  copious  expec 
toration  of  tobacco  juice.  Capt.  F.  stepped  along  to 
the  place  where  I  was  standing,  and  said  to  me, 

"  Why  can't  we  go  in  there  and  sit  down  ?  "  pointing 
to  a  chance  for  two  on  the  jury  seat. 

"Those  seats  belong  to  the  jury,"  I  replied,  "and  I 
suppose  the  court  would  object  to  our  taking  seats  with 
the  jury  while  the  trial  is  going  on." 

The  Capt.  was  now  compelled  to  believe  that  this 


SOUTHERN    JURISPRUDENCE.  199 

was  really  the  jury,  though  he  could  not  comprehend 
why  men  who  seemed  so  ignorant  and  dissipated,  had 
been  selected  for  such  an  important  trust. 

<•'  I  would  be  hung  or  I  would  be  shot/'  he  exclaimed, 
"before  I  would  be  tried  for  any  thing  great  by  such  a 
looking  set  of  fellows  as  that ! " 

This  was  uttered  in  a  whisper  so  loud  that  the  sheriff, 
who  was  at  the  further  end  of  the  room,  near  the  judge, 
came  along  and  said  to  us,  "You  disturb  the  court,  gen 
tlemen!  Please  retire  out  there  and  take  a  seat," 
pointing  to  the  seat  by  the  wall. 

"  Look  here,  Capt. ! "  said  Capt.  F.  to  the  officer,  with 
a  peering  look,  and  a  thrust  of  his  ringer  towards  the 
face  of  the  sheriff,  "  I'll  tell  you  what  I  will  do :  I  will 
give  you  fifty  dollars  for  a  true  daguerreotype  of  your 
jury  there!"  The  officer  laughed,  and  returned  to  his 
seat,  while  Dr.  "W.  and  myself  started  suddenly  for  the 
outside,  where  a  hearty  laugh  would  not  disturb  the 
court. 

I  visited  a  court  in  L.,  in  March,  1853.  Two  men 
were  on  the  jury  by  the  name  of  Smith  —  George  and 
Joseph.  They  were  brothers.  George  Smith  was  a 
temperance  man  —  a  rare  specimen  in  that  locality  —  but 
"  Joe  "  was  a  notorious  drunkard.  One  of  the  lawyers 
said  to  the  judge  in  the  morning  that  Joe  Smith  was  too 
drunk  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  juror,  and  another  must 
be  called  to  take  his  place. 

"Very  well,  I  will  take  care  of  that,"  replied  the 
judge. 
^    The  judge  calls  the  names  of  the  jurors,  in  some  of 


200  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

the  Southern  courts,  instead  of  their  being  called  by  the 
clerk,  as  in  the  courts  of  .New  England.  Now  George 
Smith  had  agreed  with  Joe  to  help  him  into  the  court 
house,  and  Joe  was  not  to  attempt  to  speak  when  the 
judge  called  his  name,  —  as  he  was  one  of  those  unfor 
tunate  inebriates  who  cannot  speak  distinctly  when  in 
toxicated, —  but  George  was  to  answer  for  him,  with 
the  hope  that  the  judge  would  not  suspect  that  Joe  was 
not  responding  himself.  When  the  judge  came  to  the 
name  of  Smith,  he  repeated,  in  a  low,  respectful  voice, 

«  George  Smith  !  " 

"Here,  sir,"  responded  George  Smith,  modestly. 

"Joe  Smith !  "  vociferated  the  judge,  in  a  thrilling 
tone,  as  if  preparing  for  a  stern  rebuke. 

"Here,  sir,"  answered  his  proxy,  George,  in  a  firm 
voice. 

"Joe  Smith"  said  the  judge,  "I  understand  that  you 
are  drunk,  and  are  not  fit  to  be  in  the  seats  with  the 
jury  to-day.  How  is  it  1 " 

"'TYs  a  lie,  sir  /"  answered  George,  quickly,  with  an 
oath.  "  I  haven't  drunk  a  drop  to-day  !  " 

"  Oh,  'tis  a  mistake,  I  suppose,"  said  the  judge,  not 
noticing  that  Joe  did  not  speak  for  himself.  "  I  pre 
sume  it  is  a  mistake,  sir,  and  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me, 
Mr.  Smith ! " 

Joe  Smith  retained  his  scat  with  the  other  jurors,  and 
an  indictment  against  a  Mr.  W.,  for  an  assault  with  in 
tent  to  kill,  was  called  up  for  trial.  The  evidence  was 
soon  "all  out,"  from  which  it  appeared  that  Mr.  W.  had 
for  some  time  a  standing  quarrel  with  a  neighbor  of  his, 


SOUTHERN    JURISPRUDENCE.  201 

and  that  during  the  fight  which  had  brought  him  into 
court,  he  had  knocked  his  neighbor  down  and  cut  his 
throat,  though  the  wound  did  not  prove  fatal. 

The  counsel  for  the  accused  pleaded  in  justification 
that  his  client  was  provoked  to  the  deed  by  the  com 
plainant,  by  insulting  and  abusive  language. 

"And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  he  said,  "I  put 
the  question  to  you,  as  honorable,  high  minded  men,  if 
such  a  rascal  as  this  complainant  had  come  up  to  you, 
as  he  did  to  iny  client,  and  called  you  all  sorts  of  insult 
ing1  names  and  opprobrious  epithets,  would  you  not  have 
knocked  1dm  doiuii  1  " 

''  Yes  !  yes !  "  responded  the  jury,  all  around. 

Satisfied  with  what  I  had  seen,  I  went  on  my  way, 
without  waiting  for  the  case  to  be  submitted  to  them  by 
the  judge. 

A  citizen  of  Tennessee  removed  to  Georgia,  and  pur 
chased  one  hundred  acres  of  land  near  the  residence  of 
a  wealthy  slaveholder.  He  fenced  in  his  little  farm, 
which  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  lands  of  the 
slaveholders  ;  and  he  worked  in  his  field  himself,  and  his 
sons  with  him.  Thus  a  free  labor  system  was  estab- 
liVhcd  in  the  midst  of  slaveholders,  for  this  man  owned 
no  slaves. 

The  rich  planter  who  was  his  neighbor,  soon  found 
out  that  he  was  setting  a  dangerous  example.  A  work 
ing  free  man,  who  sympathized  with  slaves,  who  took 
the  liberty  to  talk  with  them  and  ask  them  if  they  had 
cnoudi  to  cat.  ami  if  not,  would  give  them  corn  from 
his  own  crib,  affording  them  little  comforts,  and  express- 


202  INSIDE  VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

ing  grief  for  their  afflictions,  could  not  be  endured.  The 
slaveholder  became  deeply  enraged,  and  watched  long 
for  an  opportunity  to  bring  some  charge  against  him, 
that  would  take  away  his  property  and  drive  him  out  of 
the  place.  At  length  this  poor  man's  wife  was  taken 
sick  with  a  fever,  and  the  neighborhood  physician  was 
called. 

The  slaveholder  now  conceived  a  plan  to  banish  his 
obnoxious  neighbor.  He  went  to  the  physician,  Dr.  Ix., 
and  persuaded  him  to  charge  the  husband  of  the  sick 
woman  several  hundred  dollars  for  each  visit  he  should 
make  during  the  course  of  that  fever,  —  the  common  con 
gestive  fever  of  the  climate,  which  usually  lasts  from 
seven  to  ten  days.  Dr.  R.  in  this  way  made  up  a  bill 
of  some  thirty-five  hundred  dollars.  Payment  was  re 
fused,  and  Dr.  R.  sued  the  account.  The  case  went  to 
the  jury  —  such  a  jury  as  the  slaveholders  had  succeeded 
in  packing  —  and  their  verdict  was  for  the  whole  amount. 
The  defendant  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  farm  to  pay 
it,  and  leave  his  home,  penniless,  a  victim  of  an  institu 
tion  that  makes  courts  and  juries  the  instruments  of  its 
purposes. 

The  above  facts  are  stated  on  the  authority  of  two 
native  Georgians,  who  resided  in  the  same  county  with 
the  parties,  and  one  of  them,  a  worthy  pastor  of  an 
evangelical  church;  attended  the  court. 


XVIII. 

SLAVERY  HARDENS  THE  HEAET. 


«  That  face  of  his,  the  hungry  cannibals 

Would  not  have  touched,  would  not  have  stained  with  blood ;  — 

But  you  arc  more  inhuman,  more  inexorable, 

Oli !  ten  times  more  than  tigers  of  Hyrcania." 

SHAKESPEARE. 

PERHAPS  the  darkest  feature,  after  all,  in  tlie  system 
of  slavery,  is  its  influence  upon  the  slaveholder,  and  up 
on  all  who  become  familiar  with  it.  Its  sure  tendency 
to  harden  the  heart,  to  dry  up  all  the  fountains  of  human 
sympathy,  to  make  one  callous  to  the  wrongs  and  the 
woes  of  those  around  him,  is  stamped  upon  the  very  sur 
face  of  society  throughout  the  South.  One  can  hardly 
spend  a  day  there  —  unless  in  the  luxury  of  some  slave 
holder's  hospitality  he  forgets  every  thing  but  his  own 
present  ease  —  without  being  forced  to  exclaim 

"  There  is  no  flesh  in  man's  obdurate  heart,  — - 
It  docs  not  feel  for  man." 

And  yet  slaveholders  themselves  are  hardly  conscious 
of  this,  If  they  are  natives  of  the  South,  they  have  al- 


204  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

ways  been  trained  to  witness  the  cruelties  incident  to  tl'e 
slave  system,  and  they  seem  to  have  no  conception  of  any 
better  state  of  society.  If  they  arc  emigrants  from  Lho 
North,  so  gradually  has  the  system  gained  its  control 
over  them,  —  winding  its  fatal  cords  around  their  hearts, 
deadening  their  sensibilities,  and  familiarizing  them  to 
deeds  of  wrong,  and  cries  of  distress,  —  that  they  are 
unconscious  of  its  influence.  Northern  men  who  become 
slaveholders  —  who  once,  like  Ilazael,  would  have  been 
indignant  if  some  prophet  had  foretold  their  deeds  —  are 
quite  as  likely  to  become  cruel  masters  as  those  who 
have  been  brought  up  in  the  slave  States. 

Sometimes  the  Northern  mind  is  shocked  by  an  account 
of  some  horrid  transaction  in  the  South,  in  which  the 
actors  seem  more  like  devils  than  like  men.  The  story 
seems  so  incredible  that  those  who  are  determined  to 
maintain  a  good  opinion  of  slaveholders  affect  to  disbe 
lieve  it ;  —  while  others  doubt  it  not,  because  they  know 
that  often,  where  slavery  exists, 

"  deeds  are  wrought, 
"Which  well  might  shame  extremes!  hell." 

And  yet  these  things  are  not  doubted  or  denied  in  the 
South.  On  the  contrary  they  are  related  with  a  non 
chalance  and  an  indifference  that  arc  surprising.  The 
slaveholders  seem  to  glory  in  their  shame. 

An  illustration  of  this  maybe  •:c-eu  in  the  recent  burn 
ing  of  a  slave  in  Bumpier  county,  Alabama,  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  slaveholders  —  even  those  who 
do  not  justify  it  —  relate  the  facts.  "Dave,"  a  slave 
of  James  D.  Thornton,  accused  of  the  murder  of  the 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE   HEART.  205 

daughter  of  his  mistress,  was  arrested;  and  confessed 
his  guilt.  Mr.  Thornton  and  his  friends  assembled  to 
iho  number  of  one  hundred  men,  well  armed,  got  into  the 
jail  by  a  stratagem,  seized  the  slave,  and  bore  him  off 
in  triumph.  What  followed,  I  will  give  in  the  language 
of  the  Sumptcr  Whig: 

"  They  left  in  high  glee  with  the  prisoner,  whom  they 
felicitated  themselves  they  had  captured  by  a  coup  d'etat, 
and  without  a  resort  to  the  formidable  weapons  with 
which  they  were  armed. 

••Just  before  leaving,  some  one  in  the  crowd  extended 
an  invitation  to  the  Sheriff  and  the  good  people  of  Liv 
ingston  to  appear  near  the  residence  of  James  D.  Thorn 
ton,  (the  place  of  the  horrid  murder,)  at  1  o'clock  P.  M., 
on  Friday  following,  to  witness  the  burning  of  the  mur 
derer.  In  justice  to  our  Sheriff,  we  will  state  here,  that 
he  and  one  of  his  deputies  had  gone  to  Wetumpka,  to 
carry  Robinson  to  the  penitentiary,  who  had  been  sen 
tenced  at  our  last  Circuit  Court.  Indeed,  if  he  had  been 
at  home  on  the  occasion,  he  could  not  have  arrested  this 
unlawful  procedure ;  for  the  re?cue  was  effected  so 
quick,  and  with  so  little  noise,  that  many  of  our  citizens 
living  immediately  on  the  square  knew  nothing  of  this 
affair  until  next  morning.  Two  of  the  Sheriff's  deputies 
afterwards  demanded  the  prisoner,  and  remonstrated 
against  this  proceeding,  but  it  was  like  talking  to  the 
winds.  Some  of  our  citizens,  who  went  down  at  the  ap 
pointed  place  to  witness  the  burning  of  the  murderer, 
have  related  to  us  that  the  negro  was  tied  to  a  stake, 
with  fat  light  wood  piled  around  him,  and  that  the  torch 
18 


206  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

was  applied  in  the  presence  of  two  thousand  persons, 
who  had  met  there  to  witness  the  novel  scene.  The  ru 
mors  which  got  afloat;  that  the  negro  was  tortured,  are 
entirely  untrue." 

Not  long  before  I  visited  Georgia  there  was  a  tragedy 
very  much  like  this  in  that  State,  though  the  details  were 
more  shocking.  I  visited  the  place  where  it  occurred, 
and  heard  it  repeated  by  different  persons,  —  though  the 
story  was  related  to  me  in  all  its  particulars,  as  I  give 
it  here,  by  Mrs.  A.,  the  wife  of  a  slaveholder,  who  was 
compelled  by  her  husband  to  witness  the  scene.  She 
was  an  intelligent,  Christian  lady,  —  a  native  of  Augusta, 
in  that  State.  Like  very  many  Southern  women,  she 
was  opposed  to  slavery,  and  sympathized  with  the  slaves 
in  their  sufferings,  —  and  for  this  reason  her  harsh,  un 
feeling  husband  required  her  to  go  with  him  to  sec  the 
terrible  deed. 

A  punismcnt  had  been  inflicted  upon  this  slave  by  his 
mistress,  which  I  will  not  name,  or  describe.  In  revenge 
for  it  he  seized  a  hatchet,  and  struck  her  twice  upon  the 
head,  inflicting  wounds  that  he  supposed  would  cause  in 
stant  death,  —  though  she  afterwards  recovered.  If 
there  were  any  possible  justification  of  the  law  of  retal 
iation —  if  revenge  ever  could  be  right  —  he  would  have 
been  justified  in  taking  the  life  of  his  mistress.  Had  he 
not  been  a  slave,  public  sentiment  would  have  pronounced 
him  guiltless.  So  he  felt.  Instead  of  trying  to  escape, 
Le  ran  immediately  to  the  court  house  —  where  the  court 
was  then  in  session — told  the  officers  what  he  had 
done,  and  expressed  his  willingness  to  suffer  the  penaltv 


SL  A  VERY  HARDENS  THE  HEART.       207 

of  the  law.  That,  like  those  who  take  life  without  any 
excuse,  he  would,  in  due  course  of  law,  suffer  upon  the 
gallows,  was  what  he  anticipated.  He  wished  not  to 
avoid  the  doom.  He  desired  not  to  live. 

But  the  slaveholders  in  that  region  decided  that  he 
should  suffer  a  different  fate.  They  determined  that  he 
should  be  burned  alive  J  And  they  offered  him  up  —  a 
sacrifice — -upon  the  bloody  altar  of  slavery  1 

They  raised  money,  by  subscription,  to  pay  his  mis 
tress  for  her  loss.  Several  persons  admitted  to  me  that 
they  contributed  for  that  purpose.  The  slave  was  given 
up  to  them,  and  for  five  days  he  received  fifty  lashes 
each  day,  upon  his  naked  back,  with  the  heavy  "  cotton 
planter's  whip."  So  was  his  Heavenly  Master  scourged 
before  his  cruel  death  ! 

The  appointed  day,  —  which  some  said  was  Saturday, 
ethers  Monday,  but  which  my  informant  said  was  the 
Sabbath,  — -  at  length  arrived,  and  the  multitude  assem 
bled.  There  is  a  sparse  population  in  that  and  the  ad 
joining  counties,  —  not  over  five  thousand  within  a  space 
of  thirty  miles  square ;  —  and  yet  the  number  present 
was  variously  estimated  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand. 
All  the  slaves  in  all  that  region  were  compelled  to  at 
tend.  The  slave  who  was  to  be  executed  was  the  hug- 
band  of  a  young  wife,  and  the  father  of  two  little  daugh 
ters,  who  were  also  forced  to  be  present !  The  victim 
was  led  out  from  the  place  of  his  confinement  to  an  oak 
tree,  near  the  court  house,  where  he  was  surrounded  by 
a  vast  crowd  of  beholders,  clamoring  for  the  consuming 
fire  !  The  single  garment  he  had  on  was  taken  off.  a  cord 


208  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

was  fastened  to  the  Lands,  and  thus  naked,  he  was  drawn 
up  several  feet  from  the  earth,  and  hung  suspended  upon 
a  large  limb. 

A  slow  fire,  made  of  hard  pine  shavings,  was  then 
kindled  beneath  him.  At  first  the  smoke  arose  and  en 
veloped  him,  and  then  the  clear,  bright  flames  quickly 
ascended,  coiling  about  the  limbs,  encircling  the  body, 
scorching  the  nerves,  crisping  the  fibres,  charring  the 
flesh,  — and,  in  mortal  anguish,  he  was,  (to  use  the  lady's 
own  language,)  "  sweating,  as  it  were,  great  drops  of 
blood  f"  But,  before  life  was  entirely  extinguished, 
when  he  was  in  the  last  convulsive  agonies  of  death,  the 
executioners  applied  their  knives,  which  they  had  pre 
pared,  fastened  upon  poles,  cutting  open  the  thorax  and 
abdomen  !  Then  one  of  the  fiends  thrust  in  a  hook,  pre 
pared  in  like  manner,  and  dragged  out  the  heart !  An 
other  tore  out  the  liver !  A  third  wrenched  out  the 
lungs !  And  with  these  vital  organs,  elevated  above 
their  heads  on  the  poles,  they  ran  through  the  crowd 
screaming,  "So  shall  it  be  done  to  the  slave  that  mur 
ders  his  mistress  !  " 

Then  the  heart  was  thrown  upon  the  ground  —  and 
the  crowd  rushed  over  it,  forward  and  backward,  stamp 
ing  upon  it,  crushing  out  the  life  blood,  treading  it  in 
the  dust.  Then,  in  like  manner,  the  lungs,  and  the  liver 
were  disposed  of,  amid  the  deafening  shouts  of  the  sav 
age  throng.  "  Such  a  fiendish,  devilish  yell,"  said  my 
informant,  "  was  never  heard  this  side  of  Satan's  king 
dom  ! " 

I  know  that  this  story  is  too  shocking,  almost,  for 


SLAVERY   HARDENS    THE  HEART.  209 

belief.  And  yet,  after  careful  inquiry,  on  the  very  ground 
where  it  transpired,  I  was  fully  satisfied  of  its  truth. 
Without  any  coloring  of  my  own,  "  I  tell  it  as  it  was  told 
to  me  "  by  one  who  was  an  unwilling  witness  of  it  all. 
JIow  terrible  the  lesson  it  teaches  of  the  influence  of 
shivery  upon  those  who  are  connected  with  it ! 

<•  The  slaves,"  says  the  Kentucky  Synod  of  the  Pres 
byterian  church,  "suffer  all  that  can  be  inflicted  upon 
them  by  insane  anger.'1  There  is  much  meaning  in  this 
expression.  To  fully  understand  the  influence  of  slavery 
on  the  slaveholder,  we  must  see  him  at  home  —  see  how 
excitable,  how  changeful,  how  impulsive,  how  irritable 
he  is. 

I  never  met  an  individual  who  seemed  to  abhor  slavery 
more  profoundly,  than  Mrs.  A.,  —  the  lady  whom  I  have 
already  mentioned.  Nor  did  I  become  acquainted  with 
any  slaveholder  who  hated  the  anti-slavery  cause  more 
deeply  than  her  proud,  but  generous,  and  high-spirited 
husband.  I  passed  several  days  with  that  family.  As 
soon  as  Mrs.  A.  ascertained  my  views  of  slavery,  she 
freely  told  me  her  own  bitter  experience. 

"  Slavery  destroys  the  temper  of  every  body  connect 
ed  with  it,"  said  this  lady.  "  Slaveholders'  children,  in 
stead  of  being  taught  to  govern  their  tempers,  are  en 
couraged  to  indulge  their  passions ;  and,  thus  educated, 
they  become  the  slaves  of  passion.  Those  masters  who 
are  the  most  kind  and  benevolent  when  free  from  the  in 
fluence  of  anger,  often  become  the  most  cruel  and  mer 
ciless  when  under  its  control." 

This  fact  was  forcibly  exemplified  in  that  family.     I 


210  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY, 

was  riding  in  the  stage  one  day  in  company  with  Mr.  A. 
While  passing  a  slave  hut,  which  was  a  few  rods  from 
the  road,  Mr.  A.  requested  the  driver  to  stop  a  few  min 
utes.  As  he  was  descending  from  the  carriage,  I  saw 
him  put  a  five  dollar  note  in  his  vest  pocket.  He  ran 
towards  the  hut,  but  before  he  reached  it,  an  old,  grey 
headed  negress  came  out  and  walked  rapidly  to  meet 
him.  When  they  met,  he  threw  his  arms  around  her 
neck,  and  kissed  her,  —  and  she  locked  her  arms  about 
his  neck,  and  kissed  him !  They  talked  together  a  few 
minutes,  when  he  gave  her  the  five  dollar  bill,  and  hast 
ened  back  to  the  coach.  The  good,  old,  black  slave 
mother  followed  after  him,  invoking  the  blessings  of 
Heaven  upon  him. 

"  I  suppose  you  think,"  said  Mr.  A.  to  me,  laughing,  as 
he  was  resuming  his  seat  in  the  coach,  "that  you  Lave 
seen  something  strange  this  time,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  do,  indeed,"  I  replied ;  and  I  added,  playfully,  —  "  but 
I  have  often  heard  of  such  things  among  slaveholders." 

"  Let  me  explain,  sir,"  said  Mr.  A.  "  The  manifesta 
tion  of  attachment  you  have  witnessed  between  that  good 
woman  and  nryself,  is  really  the  affection  between  a  par 
ent  and  child.  Not  that  I  am  her  son.  But  my  own 
mother  was  an  unnatural  mother.  She  used  to  whip  me 
terribly,  and  she  treated  me  with  great  cruelty  in  every 
respect.  This  slave  mother  nursed  me  when  I  was  an 
infant ;  and  whenever  she  saw  my  own  mother  abuse  me, 
she  would  take  me  up  in  her  arms,  and  carry  me  away 
to  her  little  hut,  to  soothe  me,  and  caress  me.  I  soon 
loved  her  more  than  I  did  my  own  mother.  1  Lave  always 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE   HEART.  211 

continued  to  love  her  better  than  my  own  mother !  And 
she  says  that  I  have  always  treated  her  so  kindly,  and 
affectionately,  that  she  loves  me  as  much  as  she  does 
either  of  her  own  sons.  She  says  she  means  to  kiss  me 
every  time  we  meet  as  long  as  she  lives,  unless  I  forbid 
it ;  and  I  tell  you,  sir,  that  I  shall  never  have  it  in  my 
heart  to  do  so  ;  for  I  know  I  shall  want  to  kiss  her  every 
time  I  see  her,  as  long  as  she  lives." 

A  few  days  afterwards,  I  mentioned  this  occurrence 
to  Mrs.  A.,  and  expressed  my  surprise  to  see  such  signs 
of  affection  between  her  husband  and  that  old  slave. 

"  You  may  be  assured,"  remarked  the  lady,  with  evident 
delight  at  the  fact,  "  that  there  was  nothing  feigned  in 
that  matter.  I  know  my  husband  loves  that  good  woman 
truly,  and  that  she  merits  it  justly.  I  have  been  with 
him  many  a  time  to  see  her,  and  he  always  gives  her 
money  and  other  presents.  She  will  never  suffer  for  any 
comfort  while  he  lives.  She  is  kindly  treated  where  she 
is,  and  she  has  her  kindred  about  her." 

"  But  these  slaveholders  are  strange  men ! "  she  added, 
mournfully  —  "  so  kind  one  moment  —  so  cruel  the  next. 
You  would  infer  that  my  husband,  judging  only  from 
what  you  have  seen,  is  one  of  the  best  hearted  men  in 
the  world,  —  and  that  he  would  never  treat  a  slave  cru 
elly,  would  you  not,  sir  ?  " 

"  Most  certainly,"  I  replied.     "  Is  he  not  so  ?  " 

"  Very  tender  hearted  and  benevolent ;  indulgent  to 
a  fault,  sir,  except  when  his  anger  is  excited.  But  then, 
he  seems  to  be  beside  himself,  he  is  so  cruel  and  merci 
less.  His  passions  run  away  with  him.  They  were  nev- 


212  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAYER Y. 

er  restrained  while  he  was  young,  and  now  they  con 
trol  him.  I  will  show  you  the  proof  of  his  inhumanity 
When  in  a  passion. 

She  called  in,  from  the  kitchen,  an  old  slave  girl  by 
the  name  of  "  Sylva."  She  was  so  old  that  she  recol 
lected  scenes  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  She  was  the 
cook  for  Mr.  A.'s  father,  had  been  for  his  grandfather 
before  him,  and  was  still  the  cook  in  the  family  of  the 
third  generation. 

"  Take  off  your  shoes,  Sylva,"  said  Mrs.  A.,  "  and  let 
this  gentleman  see  your  feet." 

"  I  don't  want  to,"  said  Sylva. 

"But  I  want  you  to,"  said  her  mistress. 

"  I  don't  care  if  you  do,"  replied  Sylva,  sullenly. 

"  You  must"  said  the  mistress,  firmly. 

The  fear  of  punishment  impelled  her  to  remove  the 
shoes.  Four  toes  on  one  foot,  and  two  on  the  other, 
were  wanting ! 

"  There  ! "  said  the  mistress  ;  "  my  husband,  who  learned 
the  blacksmith's  trade  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  it  tc 
his  slaves,  to  increase  their  market  value,  has,  with  his 
own  hands,  pounded  off,  and  wrung  off  all  those  toes, 
when  insane  with  passion.  And  it  was  only  last  week 
that  he  thought  Sylva  was  saucy  to  me,  and  he  gave  her 
thirty  lashes  with  the  horse  whip.  She  was  so  old  that 
I  could  not  bear  to  see  it,  and  I  left  the  house." 

"Sylva  says,"  Mrs.  A.  continued,  "that  she  has  been 
the  mother  of  thirteen  children,  every  one  of  whom  she 
destroyed  witli  her  own  hands,  in  their  infancy,  rather 
than  have  them  suffer  in  slavery  ! " 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE   HEART.  213 

It  so  happened,  that  before  the  day  passed,  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  see  the  effects  of  the  system  upon  the 
temper  of  Mrs.  A.  herself.  I  had  a  temperance  lecture 
announced  at  the  village,  two  miles  distant,  at  six  o'clock 
that  evening.  Sylva  was  the  only  cook,  at  that  time,  in 
the  kitchen.  A  little  past  four  o'clock,  Mrs.  A.  stepped 
to  the  door  and  told  her  that  I  was  going  to  the  village 
at  sunset,  and  wanted  an  early  supper.  But  Sylva  was 
lt  sulky,"  after  the  talk  about  her  toes  had  opened  her 
wounds  afresh,  and  she  did  not  feel  disposed  to  gratify 
her  mistress.  Mrs.  A.  continued  to  call  to  her  more 
frequently,  and  more  earnestly,  until  the  time  drew  near 
for  me  to  leave.  1  began  to  suspect  that  the  cook  was 
intending  to  disappoint  us,  and,  at  a  quarter  before  six, 
I  said  to  the  lady,  — 

"  I  think  I  will  prefer  to  go  down  to  the  lecture,  mad 
am,  and  take  supper  after  I  return." 

"  0  that  will  be  too  bad,"  replied  Mrs.  A.  "  You  will 
be  famished  and  exhausted." 

She  went  to  the  door  again,  and  in  a  nervous,  earnest, 
impatient  tone,  she  said  — 

"  Sylva  !     Wont  the  cake  do  to  bring  in  now  ?  " 

"  Not  quite  done  yet,  mistress  !  I'll  bring  it  in  by  and 
by," — was  the  provoking  reply. 

And  now,  even  this  amiable  lady,  with  all  her  dignity 
and  self  respect,  lost  the  control  of  her  temper,  and 
screamed  out  at  the  top  of  her  voice  — 

"  I  sometimes  wish  thunder  and  lightning  would  come 
clown  that  chimney,  and  see  if  that  would  not  stir  you 
up  a  little  ! " 


214  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

I  laughed  immoderately.  Mrs.  A.  turned  towards  me, 
clenched  her  hands,  the  tears  rolling  down  her  cheeks,  — 

"  0  dear  ! "  she  exclaimed,  "  you  don't  know  what  prov 
ocations  we  have ! " 

"  Yes  I  do  know,  madam !  for  I  have  seen  them,"  I 
replied ;  "  and  I  have  wondered  at  your  patience." 

"  So  you  sec,  now,  it  is  as  I  told  you,"  said  Mrs.  A., 
sadly.  "Slavery  ruins  the  temper  of  everybody  connect 
ed  with  it." 

"  The  slaveholder's  wife  and  daughters  suffer  most," 
she  continued,  after  becoming  composed,  "  and  if  the 
women  of  the  North  only  knew  what  we  are  compelled 
to  suffer,  they  would  all  be  Mrs.  Stowcs." 

"  If  the  women  of  Georgia  had  the  privilege  of  de 
ciding  the  question  of  slavery,"  said  Mrs.  A.  to  me,  at 
another  time,  "  I  am  certain  that  it  would  not  live  until 
sunset." 

"Yet  I  suppose,  madam,"  said  I,  "that  few  of  them 
would  dare  publicly  express  their  hatred  of  the  sys 
tem  ?  " 

"  By  no  means,  sir,"  she  answered  quickly,  il  for  we 
scarcely  venture  to  speak  our  thoughts,  even  to  our  hus 
bands." 

She  then  spoke  of  the  poverty  and  wretchedness  of 
the  poor  white  people  in  the  South. 

"  Arc  the  whites  so  poor  and  destitute  that  they  fre 
quently  suffer  from  hunger  ?"  1  inquired. 

"No  one  has  any  idea,"  she  replied,  "  of  the  poverty 
of  this  class ;  and  nobody  seems  to  care  for  them." 

"I  have  always  heard,"  said  I,  "that  slaveholders  are 


SLAVERY    HARDENS    THE   HEART.  215 

proverbially  benevolent  and  hospitable,  even  to  stran- 
gcrs  ;  and  therefore  I  supposed  that  they  would  not  let 
their  neighbors  suffer  from  any  want  in  their  power  to 
supply." 

"  They  are  hospitable  to  each  other,  and  to  strangers/' 
said  Mrs.  A.  "  But  the  poor  at  their  own  doors,  if  not 
slaveholders,  arc  left  unnoticed,  and  uncared  for." 

The  prevailing  habit  of  intemperance  in  the  South  is 
another  source  of  much  cruel  treatment.  Men  whose 
passions,  even  when  they  are  sober,  are  ever  ready  to 
kindle  to  a  flame,  are  like  maniacs,  when  intoxicated. 
And  slaveholders,  as  a  class,  are  addicted  to  the  excess 
ive  use  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

A  slaveholder  by  the  name  of  Austin  —  a  very  kind 
man  when  he  was  sober  —  when  in  a  drunken  fit,  killed 
a  favorite  slave  by  the  name  of  "  Alexander." 

When  intoxicated,  every  object  had,  to  his  view,  an 
illusory  aspect.  He  would  fancy,  at  such  times,  that  his 
children  were  not  his  own.  And  his  neighbors'  slaves, 
in  his  diseased  imagination,  took  the  places  of  his  own. 
This  state  of  mind  is  peculiar  to  a  certain  class  of  ine 
briates. 

His  neighbor  \Y.  owned  a  slave  boy,  "  Joe,"  who  was 
very  vicious.  Austin  had  notified  Joe's  master  to  keep 
him  at  home,  but  he  neglected  to  do  it.  Joe  afterwards 
committed  a  crime  on  Austin's  plantation.  Austin  went 
to  the  master,  and  informed  him  of  it,  —  and  he  told 
him  that  if  he  ever  again  found  that  slave  on  his  prem 
ises  he  wo  aid  shoot  him.  In  a  short  time  after  this 
Austin  came  home  from  the  tavern  intoxicated.  And 


216  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

seeing  his  own  faithful  slave,  "Alexander/'  coming  in  at 
his  gate,  he  thought  it  was  the  culprit,  ''•  Joe,"  whom  he 
had  banished  from  his  premises. 

"Joe,"  exclaimed  Austin,  "what  are  you  in  here  for 
again,  you  scoundrel  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  Joe,  master,"  replied  Alexander,  "  it  is  I. 
Don't  you  know  '  Alick,'  master  ?  " 

"  I  know  Alick  ;  he  's  a  good  boy,"  said  Austin ;  "  and 
I  know  you;  Joe  !  you  black  villain  !  " 

"  Look  here,  master  Austin  !  strange  you  don't  know" — 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  I  would  kill  you  if  I  found  you  in 
here  again?"  persisted  Austin;  —  and  he  ran  towards 
the  slave,  staggering  as  he  went,  and  drawing  his  long 
knife.  The  slave  not  daring  to  resist,  fled  to  his  cabin. 
The  master  pursued,  rushed  in,  and  commenced  cuUirg 
him  with  the  knife,  until  Alexander,  to  save  his  life, 
wrenched  it  from  his  hand.  Austin  then  went  to  his 
house,  seized  his  gun,  and  returning  to  Alexander's  cab 
in,  shot  him ! 

I  came  from  Darien  up  to  Savannah  on  Friday,  in  the 
spring  of  1853,  and  took  lodgings  at  my  former  home, 
the  Marshall  House.  On  Saturday  I  walked  about  the 
city  —  renewing  old  acquaintances  —  visiting  the  mark 
et,  the  post-office,  the  reading  rooms,  stores,  commission 
houses,  &c.j  — but  I  received  no  intimation  that  a  mur 
der  had  been  committed  in  that  city  a  day  or  two  pre 
vious.  At  the  Marshall  House  I  found  many  of  the  old 
boarders  with  whom  I  was  acquainted.  1  attended 
church  with  them  the  next  Sabbath, —  but  I  heard  no 
one  speak  of  any  murder.  On  Monday  morning  I  step- 


SLAVERY   HARDENS    THE   HEART,  217 

ped  into  the  office  of  a  gentleman  of  high  standing,  who 
went  from  Massachusetts,  and  he  gave  me  a  cordial  greet 
ing. 

"  I  suppose/7  remarked  my  friend,  "  that  you  have 
hoard  of  the  murder  of  «  Cuffee,"  by  Wilson?  " 

'•'  I  have  not,  sir,"  said  I. 

"  Why  !     When  did  you  come  into  the  city  ?  " 

«  Last  Friday." 

"  "Well,  where  have  you  been  in  tbc  mean  time,  that 
you  have  not  beard  of  that  terrible  murder?" 

I  informed  him  of  my  facilities  to  obtain  sews —  stat 
ing  where  I  had  been  and  whom  I  had  seen. 

"  Xow  this  is  astonishing,"  said  my  fric-cd,  "  that  a  man 
can  be  killed  in  one  of  our  public  streets,  in  broad  day 
light,  and  the  fact  iut  be  known  at  the  market,  or  the 
reading  rooms,  or  the  Irjtols  !  " 

"Don't  your  papers  publish  such  accounts?"  I  in 
quired. 

"  No  sir.  I  looked  in  the  daily  papers  Friday  and 
Saturday,  and  I  was  surprised  to  see  no  mention  of  it 
there." 

'•'  Can  you  give  me  the  fact?,  sir  ?  "  said  I. 

'•'  0,  yes,"  replied  the  merchant,  promptly.  And  he 
added,  "  I  suppose  you  know  Wil.son  ?  " 

"  I  do  not,  sir.  I  have  merely  seen  him,  —  but  have 
no  acquaintance  with  him." 

"  Did  you  know  Cuffee  ?  "  he  asked. 

« I  did  not." 

<•'  Cuffee  was  a  house  carpenter,  a  very  smart,  ingenious 
industrious  workman,  He  hired  his  time  of  his  master, 
19 


218  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

for  which  he  paid  him  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dol 
lars  a  year.  He  did  job-work,  and  by  constant,  hard 
labor,  could  earn  a  little  more  than  the  amount  paid  his 
master,  and  thus  have  the  means  of  affording  a  few  com 
forts  to  his  wife  and  family,  which  they  would  not  other 
wise  enjoy.  You  see  that  window,  sir  !  "• —  pointing  to  a 
large  window  in  his  office.  —  "  Cuffee  put  in  that  window 
a  few  days  since.  He  made  the  sash,  and  the  frame,  and 
put  up  those  neat  little  fixtures  you  see  at  the  sides." 

u  About  six  months  ago,"  continued  Mr. -,  "  Cuffee 

did  some  work  for  Wilson  which  was  worth  at  least  ten 
dollars.  He  waited  some  time  for  his  pay,  but  Wilson 
neglected  it.  Cuffee  asked  him  two  or  three  times  for 
it,  and  Wilson  refused  as  often  to  pay  him.  Last  week 
Cuffee  met  him  in  the  street  and  demanded  payment. 

1 1  have  been  sick  lately,  Mr.  Wilson,'  said  Cuffee,  <  and 
I  have  not  collected  quite  enough  to  pay  the  amount  due 
to  my  master ;  and  if  you  ever  intend  to  pay  me  for  the 
work  I  did  for  you  I  will  thank  you  to  do  it  now.' 

1  The  work  was  not  half  done/  replied  Wilson;  'and 
I  thought  I  shouldn't  pay  you  any  thing  for  it.' 

Two  gentlemen  were  standing  on  the  side-walk,  who 
saw  and  heard  it  all. 

.'Well,'  said  Cuffee,  'remember  that  I  shall  never  ask 
you  for  it  again,  so  you  will  decide  it  finally  this  time.3 

'Wilson  took  a  half  dollar  from  his  pocket,  and  held  it 
out  towards  Cuffee,  in  his  open  hand. 

'Is  that  all  you  mean  to  pay  me,  Mr.  Wilson?'  ex 
claimed  Cuffee,  contemptuously. 

1  Yes/  replied  Wilson,  angrily,  —  <  take  that,  or  nothing.' 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE   HEART.  219 

( Why  Mr.  Wilson !  that  is  not  half  as  much  as  I  paid 
a  boy  who  helped  me  do  the  job.' 

<  I  don't  care  for  that/  said  Wilson ;  { that  is  all  I  shall 
pay  you.' 

I  Mr.  Wilson/  said  Cuffee,  much  excited,  '  if  we  were 
a  little  nearer  the  river,  I  would  throw  this  half  dollar 
into  it,  just  to  let  you  know  that  I  can  live  without  it, 
and  that  I  despise  your  meanness  and  dishonesty.' 

Now  it  does  not  answer  for  a  slave  to  call  a  slavehold 
er  mean  and  dishonest.  No  matter  how  mean  and  dis 
honest  he  may  be,  the  slave  must  not  remind  him  of  it. 
Wilson  commenced  beating,  kicking,  and  cursing  the 
slave.  The  spectators  did  not  interfere  —  perhaps  they 
dared  not  provoke  the  murderer's  wrath.  Cuft'ee  was 
able  to  defend  himself,  if  public  opinion  would  have  sus 
tained  him  5  —  he  could  have  run  from  the  assassin,  but 
he  feared  the  bullet  would  overtake  him. 

The  blows  continued  to  fall  upon  him  so  thick  and 
heavy,  that,  under  a  consciousness  of  his  innocence,  hav 
ing  more  moral  courage  than  if  he  had  not  been  making 
his  own  contracts,  and  thinking,  probably,  that  he  could 
fall  back  on  his  kind  master  for  protection,  he  straight 
ened  himself  up,  stepped  back,  stretched  out  his  stalwart 
arm,  and  exclaimed  — 

I 1  tell  you  now,  Mr.  Wilson,  that  if  I  was  not  a  slave, 
I  would  not  endure  such  treatment  as  this  from  you  for 
a  moment ! ' 

Behold  him  lifting  his  hand  against  a  white  man  ! 
Unpardonable  offense  !  Any  man  may  Mil  him  with 


220  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

impunity!     "Wilson  drew  his  double  barrelled  pistol, 
and  shot  the  noble  hearted  slave  dead  on  the  spot ! 

The  Supreme  Court  was  in  session  in  that  city  at  the 
time.  Cufice's  master  felt  indignant  that  his  faithful 
servant  had  been  stricken  down  under  such  circumstan 
ces,  and  he  entered  a  complaint  against  Wilson  for  the 
murder.  But  on  receiving  a  thousand  dollars  as  a  com 
pensation  for  his  value,  he  abandoned  the  prosecution ; 
and  the  murderer  still  goes  abroad,  unpunished  ! 

While  I  was  in  Georgia  a  shocking  murder  was  com 
mitted  in  Clark  county.  The  following  account  of  it  is 
from  the  Savannah  Morning  News,  of  the  26th  of  Jan- 
nary,  1853. 

"  On  Thursday  last,  James  Clark,  a  well  known  citi 
zen  of  Clark  county,  made  an  assault  upon  his  negro 
woman,  for  a  cause  which  we  have  not  heard  stated.  He 
then  ordered  her  into  the  corner,  and  commenced  pitch 
ing  his  knife  at  her,  point  foremost.  As  the  knife  would 
enter  her  flesh,  he  would  compel  the  victim  to  draw  it 
out,  and  return  it  to  him.  This  demoniacal  amusement 
was  continued  until  the  slave  was  covered  with  about 
fifty  bleeding  gashes.  The  same  day  he  whipped  his 
wife,  cut  her  all  over  the  head  with  his  knife,  not  dan 
gerously,  we  understand,  but  in  a  mass  of  cruel  and 
painful  punctures.  He  also  cut  off  her  eyelids.  This 
drama  wound  up,  on  Friday  last,  by  the  commission  of 
a  murder.  Clark  on  that  day  ordered  his  wife  to  go 
and  call  Lewis,  (a  negro  belonging  to  the  family.)  She 
obeyed;  —  but  the  slave  refused  to  come,  through  dread 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE  HEART.  221 

of  Ids  enraged  master,  we  suppose.  Mrs.  Clark  re 
turned,  and  was  whipped  by  her  husband,  for  not  bring 
ing  the  negro !  Five  times  was  she  sent  upon  this  ca 
pricious  mission,  five  times  was  it  fruitless,  and  each 
time  was  she  whipped  for  her  failure.  Clark  then  called 
to  the  slave,  informing  him  that  he  would  shoot  him  the 
next  morning.  The  negro,  it  seems,  did  not  heed  the 
warning,  for  while  splitting  rails  the  nest  day,  he  was 
deliberately  shot  by  his  master.  The  wound  was  fatal  ; 
the  negro  ran  about  three  hundred  yards,  and  fell  in 
mortal  agony.  Thus  terminated  one  of  the  most  bar 
barous  transactions  that  it  has  ever  been  our  painful  and 
repugnant  duty  to  record." 

One  day  while  conversing  with  Mr.  C.,  the  city  mar 
shal  of  Darien,  upon  matters  of  this  kind,  he  related  to 
me  the  following  thrilling  story.  The  facts  were  within 
his  own  personal  knowledge. 

Charles  Pclot  owned  a  slave  —  "Cato,"- — the  best 
pilot  in  that  port.  Every  shipmaster  who  visited  Dari 
en,  felt  perfectly  safe  in  entering  the  harbor,  however 
thick  the  fog,  or  violent  the  storm,  if  Cato  was  at  the 
helm.  He  was  remarkably  intelligent,  and  faithful ;  and 
of  course  he  was  valuable  to  his  master  for  that  reason. 
Everybody  knew  him,  and  had  perfect  confidence  in  him. 
His  master  owned  no  other  slave,  —  and  he  indulged 
Cato,  giving  him  privileges  which  were  not  granted  to 
other  slaves.  Though  it  was  not  allowed  by  law,  Cato 
was  permitted  to  take  a  gun,  and  go  out  among  the 
islands  in  pursuit  of  game.  His  services  as  pilot  were 
often  in  demand,  at  a  high  price,  —  so  that  he  almost  or 
quite  supported  his  master's  family. 


222  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

Cato's  family  belonged  to  a  master  residing  in  that 
city,  who  neglected  properly  to  supply  their  wants.  He 
•was,  therefore,  generously  permitted  to  visit  them  often, 
carry  them  food,  and  clothing,  and  take  care  of  them  in 
sickness. 

It  so  happened  that  Mr.  Pelot  sold  his  property  in 
Darien,  with  the  intention  of  removing  to  Jacksonville, 
in  Florida.  Slaveholders  never  consult  their  slaves  in 
business  matters,  no  matter  how  intelligent  they  may  be. 
Cato,  therefore,  remained  in  ignorance  of  his  master's 
purpose,  until  the  evening  before  he  was  expecting  to 
leave  the  city. 

Mr.  C.  told  me  that  he  happened  to  be  present  when 
Cato's  master  informed  him  of  his  contemplated  re 
moval. 

"  Cato  !  "  said  he,  "  I  have  sold  my  property  here,  and 
am  going  down  to  Jacksonville." 

"  When  are  you  going,  master  ?  "  inquired  the  slave, 
his  voice  trembling,  as  if  all  the  fears  of  a  lifetime  were 
crowding  upon  him  in  this  single  moment. 

"  I  am  going  to-morrow,"  replied  Mr.  P. 

"  Do  you  want  me  to  go  with  you,  master  ?  "  inquired 
the  already  wretched  slave. 

"  Yes,  Cato  !  "  said  the  master.  "  You  know  I  depend 
upon  your  labor  for  the  support  of  my  family.  I  want 
you  for  a  pilot  at  Jacksonville." 

"Are  you  going  to  buy  my  wife  and  children,  mas 
ter  ?  " 

Cato's  emotions  were  so  strong,  and  his  anxiety  so  in 
tense,  that  he  could  hardly  ask  the  question.  A  moment 
of  awful  silence  passed  —  the  master  could  not  speak, 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE   HEART.  223 

and  the  slave,  as  if  encouraged  by  his  delay  to  reply, 
added  — 

"  Now  if  you  will  buy  Nelly  and  the  children,  master 
Pelot,  I  should  like  to  go  with  you  j  for  you  have  always 
been  good  to  me,  and  I  don't  want  to  leave  you ! " 

"  I  wish  for  your  sake,  Cato,  that  I  could  buy  Nelly 
and  the  little  girls,  —  but  I  am  not  able,"  replied  Pelot, 
sadly,  and  with  evident  sorrow  of  heart  for  the  wretch 
ed  family. 

"  Well,  then,  I  can't  go  with  you,  master,"  said  Cato. 

"  You  must  go,  Cato,"  replied  the  master ;  "  you  are 
all  my  dependence  for  a  living." 

"  I  tell  you  I  can't  go,  master,  and  leave  my  wife  and 
children  in  the  hands  of  that  man !  You  know,  master  1 " 
said  Cato,  pointing  towards  the  defenceless  hut  where 
his  unprotected  family  lived. 

"I  do  know,  Cato,"  said  the  sympathizing  master, 
"  and  I  pity  you !  But  I  cannot  buy  your  family,  and  I 
cannot  part  with  you.  You  must  be  ready  to  start  with 
us  in  the  morning."  —  The  slave  folded  his  arms  upon  his 
breast,  raised  his  eyes  to  Heaven,  as  if  imploring  Divine 
assistance,  and  then  he  said  to  his  master,  firmly, — 

"  You  have  always  been  kind  to  me,  master  Pelot.  I 
love  you,  and  would  like  to  go  with  you,  —  but  I  will  nev 
er  go  away  from  Darien,  and  leave  my  wife  and  children 
in  the  hands  of  that  man  1  /  have  resolved  to  die  first !  " 

This  seeming  defiance  of  his  authority  enraged  the 
master,  and  anger  took  the  place  of  pity. 

"  You  will  go  with  me,  to-morrow  morning ! "  he  ex 
claimed. 


224  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

Cato  loaded  Ms  old  rusty  rifle,  and  fled  that  night  to 
the  woods.  In  the  morning,  Mr.  C.,  the  city  marshal, 
was  ordered  to  pursue  him.  He  told  me  that  he  kept 
hounds  for  that  purpose.  He  went  out  behind  the  court 
house,  —  which  stands  outside  of  the  city,  near  the  pine 
Woods,  —  and  Cato  called  to  him  from  the  top  of  a 
tree  — 

"  Don't  you  come  to  take  me,  Mr.  C. !  You  know  I 
told  master  Pelot  that  I  would  die  before  I  would  leave 
Darien,  and  let  my  wife  and  children  suffer  as  they 
would.  I  knew  it  was  no  use  to  run  away,  for  the  dogs 
would  catch  me ;  and  I  don't  want  to  hurt  you,  Mr. 
C. ;  but  I  will  shoot  the  first  man  that  comes  to  take 
me ! " 

Mr.  C.  returned,  and  told  Pelot  that  he  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  taking  Cato,  —  not  even  if  he  should 
be  removed  from  his  office  for  this  decision.  But  there 
were  two  desperados  in  that  city,  who  volunteered  to  go 
and  take  him.  The  name  of  one  of  them  was  Sain. 
Blunt. 

"  Bring  him  in,  dead  or  alive  \  "  said  Pelot,  when  they 
started. 

Blunt  hod  a  longer  rifle  than  Cato  had.  The  two 
man-hunters  went  out  around  the  court  house,  when  Ca 
to  admonished  them  of  their  danger  if  they  advanced 
farther.  Blunt  raised  his  rifle,  and  fired !  Cato  fell 
to  the  ground.  They  took  him  up,  —  but  he  was 
dead ! ! I 

B.  S.,  of  F.  H.,  in  South  Carolina,  owned  a  giant  slave 
whose  name  was  Dread.  This  slave  was  represented  to 


SLAVERY    HARDENS   THE   HEART.  225 

me  by  one  of  the  neighbors  as  a  man  of  superior  strength, 
both  of  body  and  mind,  being  nearly  seven  feet  in  height. 
There  were  forty  slaves  at  work  on  the  plantation  of 
B.  S.,  before  Dread  was  added  to  the  number;  and  this 
name  was  given  him  by  the  new  master  on  account  of  his 
uncommon  physical  strength. 

The  next  year  Dread  was  made  overseer  of  the  gang, 
aiul  the  management  of  the  plantation  was^  wholly  left 
to  his  care.  The  farm  was  well  conducted  under  his 
supervision,  and  everything  went  on  smoothly  and  pros 
perously  for  several  years.  The  task  of  every  hand 
was  always  well  and  seasonably  performed,  without 
whipping.  If  a  feeble  woman  was  sick,  or  unable  to 
accomplish  her  task  alone,  her  husband  or  brother  was 
allowed  to  assist  her.  Or  if  a  weak,  feeble  man  could 
not  keep  up  with  the  gang,  Ins  friend  was  permitted  to 
help  him.  This  is  a  privilege  not  customarily  granted 
to  slaves. 

The  fields  of  B.  S.  were  now  so  much  more  produc 
tive  than  those  of  others  around  him,  that  the  neighbor 
ing  planters  frequently  sought  advice  of  his  colored 
overseer,  in  relation  to  the  management  of  their  farms ; 
thus  deferring  to  his  opinion,  and  admitting  that  he  pos 
sessed  more  practical  knowledge  of  agricultural  matters 
than  cither  themselves  or  their  white  overseers. 

A  gentleman,  well  acquainted  with  Dread,  told  me 
that  he  regarded  him  not  only  as  much  the  stoutest,  but 
the  most  intellectual  man  he  ever  saw. 

'•'  Dread  had  the  largest  head/'  he  remarked,  "  i  have 
ever  seen-,  —  and  I  have  seen  Daniel  Webster;  and  his 


226  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

natural  abilities  were  not  inferior  to  those  of  tliat  states 
man." 

Placed  in  a  condition  less  humble  than  most  slaves, 
he  had  never  appeared  so  menial  and  timid.  He  felt 
and  acted  more  like  a  free  man.  He  did  not  always 
take  off  his  cap  and  put  it  under  his  arm  whenever  he 
met  a  white  man  in  the  street,  or  entered  his  dwelling. 

It  was  natural  that  the  white  overseers  on  the  sur 
rounding  plantations  should  be  jealous  of  his  success. 
And  soon  it  began  to  be  whispered  around  the  neighbor 
hood  that,  if  Dread  were  so  disposed,  he  might  become 
a  leader  in  an  insurrection. 

The  slaveholders  held  a  conference,  and  decided  that 
it  was  necessary  for  B.  S.  to  make  an  experiment  that 
would  test  the  manhood  of  the  giant  slave,  and  ascer 
tain  whether  he  could  be  made  as  submissive  as  all 
slaves  should  be  made,  to  insure  the  safety  of  the  mas 
ters.  Among  the  plans  that  were  suggested  to  B.  S., 
one  was  to  obtain  another  overseer,  and  put  Dread  to 
work  under  him  in  the  gang ;  and  if  he  expressed  the 
least  objection  to  the  change,  to  whip  him  severely,  and 
"  break  him  in" 

A  large,  tall,  stout  Yankee  was  secured  for  a  driver, 
and  Dread  was  ordered  to  take  his  hoe,  and  perform 
his  task  with  the  other  hands.  Without  expressing  the 
least  surprise  or  regret  at  the  loss  of  his  place,  or  even 
presuming  to  inquire  why  he  was  to  be  no  longer  over 
seer,  he  went  to  work  with  as  much  apparent  cheerful 
ness  as  usual. 

This  was  so  unexpected,  that  the  masters  were  greatly 


SLAVERY   HARDENS  THE  HEART  227 

perplexed.  They  could  really  find  no  fault  in  the  slave 
on  which  to  predicate  a  charge  and  inflict  a  punishment. 
His  noble,  fearless  bearing,  and  stately  step,  were  un- 
mistakeable  signs  that  he  felt  altogether  too  manly  and 
independent  for  a  humble  slave;  but  how  to  devclopo 
his  feelings  and  prove  the  fact,  was  the  difficult  question. 
There  was  nothing  in  his  character  or  conduct  that  de 
served  the  slightest  reproof,  much  less  a  punishment 
sufficiently  severe  to  crush  his  manhood  and  break  his 
invincible  spirit.  Still  all  agreed  that  something  must 
be  done. 

Finally,  they  concluded  to  prefer  false  charges  against 
him,  and  punish  him  if  he  complained  of  suffering  wrong 
fully.  The  master  treated  him  with  unusual  severity. 
One,  among  numerous  complaints  brought  against  him, 
was  that  he  did  not  hoc  his  corn  so  well  as  the  other 
hands.  To  remove  this,  Dread  performed  a  double 
task, —  hoeing  two  rows  to  each  of  the  others  one. 
Tom,  wl  10  hoed  next  to  Dread,  told  me  that  Dread  re 
moved  every  weed,  hoed  it  as  neat  as  a  garden,  deter 
mined  to  remove  every  cause  for  complaint ;  for  he  saw 
that  a  terrible  storm  was  arising  upon  him. 

Dread  and  Tom  occupied  the  same  hut  after  the  new 
overseer  had  come  ;  and  they  had  always  been  mutual 
iriends. 

'•'Master  S.,"  said  Tom,  who  related  the  story  to  inc. 
•'•'  came  into  our  hut  one  evening,  soon  after  we  had  fin. 
ishcd  work,  looking  so  pale  that  he  frightened  me ;  and 
he  said, 

" '  Dread  !  I  say  you  don't  hoe  your  corn  so  well  as 
the  other  hands.7 


228  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 


do  you  know  that,  master  !'  "replied  the  in 
trepid  slave?  rising  up  respectfully  from  his  low  stool, 
and  looking  the  master  calmly  in  the  eye." 

"Now  I  knew/'  said  Torn,  "that  master  S.  had  not 
been  into  the  field  that  day.  Nor  had  he  seen  the  over 
seer,  as  his  quarters  were  beyond  our  hut,  and  further 
from  the  house.  Besides,  had  he  consulted  the  overseer, 
he  would  have  been  informed  that,  instead  of  not  doing 
his  work  l  as  well,'  Dread  had  done  his  work  better,  and 
twice  as  much,  as  either  of  the  other  hands.  But  the 
moment  he  questioned  his  master's  knowledge,  he  had 
exceeded  the  prerogative  of  a  slave,  and  this  threw  his 
master  into  a  violent  fit  of  anger." 

'  Ah  !  you  have  got  above  yourself,  boy,'  he  vocifera 
ted,  raging  and  foaming  with  passion.  {  I  must  have  you 
taken  down  a  notch  I  You  shall  be  flogged,  you  impu 
dent,  black  rascal  !  ' 

'  /  shall  not  receive  a  flogging,  sir  !  '  "  replied  the  in» 
dignant  slave,  firmly  and  fearlessly." 

"  Mr.  S.  then  ran  out  to  the  overseer,  and  told  him  to 
call  out  all  the  hands." 

1  Now  take  him  and  tie  him/  "  said  Mr.  S.,  when  the 
whole  gang  had  assembled  in  front  of  Dread's  hut,  and 
he  was  standing  in  the  door.  This,"  said  Tom,  "  they 
attempted  to  do,  in  a  scuffle  which  lasted  nearly  an  hour  ; 
but  they  were  not  able  for  a  moment  to  confine  one  of 
his  limbs  ;  for  with  his  hands  and  feet  he  flung  them  on  the 
ground  as  fast  as  they  came  near  him.  He  evidently 
avoided  injuring  the  slaves  more  than  was  absolutely 


SLAVERY    HARDENS    THE   HEART.  229 

necessary,  in  defending  himself;  for  he  knew  they  all 
loved  him." 

Soon  after  this  fruitless  effort  to  subdue  Dread,  the 
master  and  overseer  of  another  plantation  were  employed 
to  come  and  help  bind  and  whip  him.  In  the  mean  time, 
Dread  furnished  himself  with  a  long  butcher-knife,  with 
which  he  felt  secure.  When  he  saw  them  coming  into 
tho  field  to  take  him,  he  dropped  his  hoe,  drew  the  rude 
weapon  from  his  side,  advanced  a  few  steps  towards 
them,  and  brandished  the  knife,  as  he  stood  in  an  atti 
tude  of  conscious  innocence,  moral  courage,  physical 
strength,  and  bold  defiance  of  his  foes ! 

"  No  man,"  said  Tom,  "  dared  lay  a  finger  on  him ! " 

Now  a  crisis  had  come.  —  A  slave  had  successfully 
resisted  his  master.  This  must  not  be  tolerated. 
Such  an  insurrectionary  spirit  must  bo  crushed  —  cost 
what  it  may.  The  deadly  purpose  was  formed  in  the 
heart  of  the  master. 

"  The  gun  was  loaded,"  said  Tom,  "  and  I  was  ordered 
to  take  the  ammunition,  and  accompany  my  master." 

1  "What  are  you  going  to  do  now  ? '  "  said  Mrs.  S.  to 
her  husband,  as  he  was  passing  out  of  the  house." 

(I  am  going  out  on  a  squirrel  hunt,'  "replied  Mr.  S., 
with  apparent  composure," 

"Had  mistress  known  his  intention  to  kill  Dread," 
said  Tom,  "  I  think  she  would  have  dissuaded  him  from 
his  bloody  purpose,  —  for  she  was  a  Christian  woman. 
But  we  started  off  before  she  had  time  to  say  more. 
Passing  around  behind  the  house,  we  came  in  sight  of 
20 


230  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

the  slaves  at  work  in  a  plum  orchard;  in  the  valley  be 
hind  the  hill.  Master  raised  his  gun  —  held  it  steady 
to  his  eye,  until  the  victim  was  selected  from  the  other 
hands,  —  and  then  he  fired  !  " 

A  heavy  charge  of  buck  shot  was  lodged  in  the  thigh 
of  the  great-hearted,  unconquerable  Dread.  The  large 
artery  was  divided.  The  blood  poured  from  the  wound. 
Dread  ran  out  a  few  rods  to  the  hill  side,  crying  to 
Heaven  for  vengeance  on  his  murderer,  and  uttering,  in 
deep,  thunder  tones,  that  seemed  to  make  the  earth  trem 
ble  beneath  him, 

« I  'm  killed  !     I  'm  killed  !  !     I  'm  killed  !  !  !  » 

His  devoted  wife,  who,  a  moment  before,  stood  labor 
ing  faithfully  at  his  side,  was  the  first  to  reach  him,  cry 
ing  in  a  wild,  frantic  voice  — 

"  Dread  is  dead  I  DREAD  is  DEAD  !  !  DREAD  IS 
DEAD ! !  ! 

"  Hold  your  tongue  ! "  commanded  the  murderer. 

"  Still  she  screamed,"  said  Tom,  "  louder  than  I  ever 
before  heard  from  woman  — l Dread  is  dead!  —  Dread 
is  dead ! ' 

"  The  master  ran  up  to  the  fence,  pulled  off  a  rail,  and 
struck  that  woman  with  it  on  the  head,  repeating  —  with 
a  horrid  oath  — 

1  Hold  your  tongue,  I  say  !  ' 

This  is  the  "  moderate  correction  "  which  the  laws  of 
the  slave  States  allow !  So  docs  slavery  harden  the 
heart,  until  the  man  is  made  —  not  a  brute,  but  —  a  fiend  ! 
So  has  many  a  moral  hero  in  the  South  fallen  a  victim 
to  its  cruel,  insatiable  spirit ! 


SLAVERY   HARDENS   THE  HEART.  231 

The  body  of  Dread  was  carried  to  its  rest,  by  his 
mourning  companions.  The  darkness  of  night  could  not 
cover  their  sorrow.  His  heart-stricken  wife,  broken 
down  with  grief  which  no  tongue  can  describe,  was  sold 
a  few  days  afterwards  to  a  "  soul-driver  "  from  Kentucky ! 


XIX. 

SLAVERY  AND  EDUCATION. 


"  And  such  is  man  —  a  soil  which  breeds 
Or  sweetest  flowers,  or  vilest  weeds  ; 
Flowers  lovely  as  the  morning's  light,  — 
Weeds  deadly  as  an  aconite  ; 
Just  as  the  heart  is  trained  to  bear 
The  poisonous  weed  or  floweret  fair." 


IN  the  census  report  of  1850  the  disastrous  influence  a 
of  slavery  arc  visible  on  almost  every  page.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  many  features  not  to  be  found  there. 
The  relative  amount  of  manufactures  and  of  commerce 
have  to  be  sought  for  from  other  sources,  and,  when 
found,  show  that  the  South,  with  far  greater  resources. 
is  vastly  inferior  to  the  North.  But  the  statistics  of  the 
last  census  exhibit  evidence  enough  to  convince  any 
candid  mind  of  the  dangers  that  impend  over  our  nation. 
From  the  general  fact  that  the  slave  States,  with  much 
the  larger  territory,  far  surpassing  the  North  in  fertility 
of  soil,  in  mildness  of  climate,  with  abundance  of  har 
bors,  and  rivers,  and  waterfalls,  for  commerce,  naviga 
tion,  and  manufactures,havenot  half  so  great  a  free  white 
population  as  the  free  States,  down  to  the  minutest  details 


SLAVERY   AKD    EDUCATION.  233 

of  educational  institutions,  the  premature  decay  of  the 
one,  and  the  rapid  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  other, 
are  written  in  lines  that  cannot  be  overlooked. 

In  the  15  free  States,  excluding  California,  there  were 
4,742,000  white  children  between  5  and  20  years  of  age. 
Of  these,  3,111,000  were  returned  as  scholars  attending 
the  various  primary  schools.  In  the  slave  States  the 
number  of  free  white  children  between  5  and  20  years 
of  a<re  was  2,450,000,  and  only  974,000  of  these  were 
reported  as  scholars  attending  any  of  the  schools. 
There  were  more  scholars  in  Massachusetts,  than  in 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia.  There 
were  more  in  Maine,  than  in  Virginia,  South  Carolina, 
and  Mississippi.  There  were  more  in  either  two  of 
New  York,  Ohio,  and  Pennsylvania,  than  in  all  the  slave 
States  put  together. 

Compare  Maine  with  Georgia  and  North  Carolina. 
In  Maine,  the  white  population  in  1850  was  581,813. 
Of  these,  31,695  were  foreigners.  The  adult  popula 
tion,  over  2.0  years  old,  was  293,422.  Of  these,  only 
6,282  were  unable  to  read  and  write,  and  4,148  of  these 
were  foreigners,  only  2,134  being  native  born. 

In  Georgia,  the  free  white  population  was  521,572, 
of  which  only  6,452  were  foreigners.  There  were 
217,774  over  20  years  old,  of  whom  41,667  were  not 
able  to  read  or  write ;  and  only  406  of  these  were  for 
eigners,  41,261  being  native  born. 

In  North  Carolina  the  free  white  population  was 
553,028,  only  2,565  of  whom  were  foreigners.  The 


234  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

number  over  20  years  old  was  241,022,  of  whom  80,423 
could  neither  read  nor  write.  And  of  these  only  340 
were  foreigners,  80,83  being  native  born. 

Compare  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.  In  Massa 
chusetts  the  white  population  was  985,450.  Foreign 
ers,  165,598.  The  number  of  adults  over  20  years  of 
age,  568,533.  Of  these,  the  number  not  able  to  read 
and  write  was  28,345,  of  whom  26,484  were  foreigners, 
only  1,861  being  native  born ! 

While  in  Virginia  the  free  white  population  was 
894,800,  with  only  22,593  foreigners.  The  number  over 
20  years  old  was  413,418,  of  whom  88,520  could  not 
read  or  write.  And  of  these  only  1,137  were  foreign 
ers,  87,383,  being  native  born ! 

The  number  of  daily  newspapers  returned,  not  includ 
ing  the  District  of  Columbia  or  California,  was  245. 
Of  these,  173  were  published  in  the  free  States,  and  72 
in  the  slave  States.  The  number  of  weekly  newspapers 
was  1,888,  — in  the  North  1,351,  in  the  South  537  !  The 
number  in  Massachusetts  was  126,  in  Virginia  55. 
The  number  in  New  York  was  308,  and  in  Pennsyl 
vania  261,  being  32  more  in  these  two  States,  than  in 
all  the  slave  States. 

The  annual  income  of  the  public  schools  in  the  thirty 
States,  excluding  California  and  the  District  of  Colum 
bia,  from  taxation  and  all  other  sources,  was  $9,561,859. 
Of  this,  $6,840,488  is  put  to  the  credit  of  the  free 
States,  and  only  $2,721,371  to  the  slave  States.  The 
amount  in  Massachusetts  was  $  1,006,795,  in  Virginia 


SLAVERY   AND   EDUCATION.  235 

$314.625,  In  New  York  it  was  §1,472,657,  and  in 
Pennsylvania  $  1,414,530,  being  $  165,816  more  in  these 
two  States  than  in  all  the  slave  States  ! ! ! 

Before  relating  any  of  my  own  personal  observations; 
I  will  allude  to  some  of  the  reasons  that  have  been 
given  for  this  disparity  between  the  North  and  the  South. 
It  has  been  said  that  they  cannot  sustain  schools  in  the 
slave  States,  on  account  of  the  "sparseness  of  the  pop 
ulation."  But  Maine  stands  ahead  of  every  other  State 
in  the  proportion  of  her  children  attending  school,  and 
only  one  other  State  equals  it  in  the  proportion  of  her 
population  who  can  read  and  write.  But  there  are  a 
less  number  of  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  in  this 
State  than  in  Georgia,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
or  either  of  the  Carolinas.  And  a  comparison  of  either 
of  these  States  with  Vermont  or  New  Hampshire  shows 
the  same  result. 

And  though,  as  I  shall  show,  the  sparsely  settled  dis 
tricts  in  the  South  are  generally  the  most  noted  for  the 
ignorance  of  the  people,  it  is  far  otherwise  in  the  North. 
In  the  rural  districts  of  New  England,  among  the  farm 
ers,  the  schools  are  uniformly  the  best,  and  the  number 
of  ignorant  men  less  than  in  the  cities  and  the  large 
seaboard  towns.  I  believe  the  conviction  at  the  North 
is,  that  slaveholders  themselves  are  generally  educated ; 
and  that  those  who  cannot  read  and  write  are  found 
among  the  poor  non-slaveholding  whites  and  blacks.  But 
it  is  not  so.  The  non-slaveholders  are  ignorant  and 
degraded,  but  not  more  so  than  the  Crackers.  So  far 
as  I  observed,  the  slaveholders  in  the  planting  districts 


236  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

are  quite  as  destitute  of  learning  as  the  poor  whites ; 
and  I  have  seen  a  private  letter  from  a  colporteur,  in 

which  he  affirms  that  he  traveled  20  miles  in county, 

called  on  21  families  of  slaveholders.,  and  found  only 
two  —  a  man  and  his  wife  — -  who  could  read. 

The  slave  States  are  divided  into  counties  only,  and 
not  into  towns  like  the  free  States.  Near  the  center 
of  each  county,  usually,  is  the  "  county  seat,"  where  are 
the  court  house,  jail,  church,  and  school.  When  other 
villages  spring  up,  in  other  parts  of  the  county,  they 
receive  adventitious  names,  until  they  add  a  few  hundred 
inhabitants,  to  enable  them  to  maintain  a  municipal  gov 
ernment,  and  they  then  become  cities.  Some  of  these 
cities  have  less  than  five  hundred  inhabitants. 

At  most  of  the  county  seats,  schools — called  acade 
mies —  have  been  established.  The  standard  of  educa 
tion  in  these  academies  has  always  been  far  below  that 
of  the  common  schools  in  the  New  England  States.  I 
visited  several  academies,  and  in  none  of  them  were 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  so  thoroughly  taught  as 
they  are  in  the  common  schools  of  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire. 

Within  a  few  years  the  slaveholders  themselves,  es 
pecially  those  who  went  from  the  North,  have  lost  all 
confidence  in  the  old  academy  as  a  suitable  school  for 
their  children ;  and  hence  the  recent  establishment  of 
four  male  and  eight  female  colleges,  in  the  cities  of 
Georgia,  which  are  mainly  sustained  by  these  Northern 
men,  and  instructed  by  teachers  from  the  North.  The 
standard  of  education  in  these  colleges  is  about  the  same 


SLAVERY   AND   EDUCATION.  237 

as  in  the  common  schools  in  New  England.  The  orna» 
mental  branches  are  better  taught,  but  the  solid,  not  so 
well. 

The  slaveholders  are  evidently  discouraged  by  the 
unsuccessful  efforts  to  educate .  their  sons.  Hence  the 
number  of  female  colleges  is  double  that  of  male. 
Three  of  these  colleges  are  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Baptist^  three  of  the  Methodist,  and  two  of  the  Presby 
terian  denomination.  There  arc  from  one  to  two  hund 
red  young  ladies  in  these  schools.  Some  of  them  are 
from  the  North,  but  a  large  proportion  of  them  are 
Southern  ladies,  though  the  daughters  of  parents  who 
went  from  the  free  States.  Most  of  these  young  ladies, 
as  well  as  their  teachers,  a  large  proportion  of  whom 
are  directly  from  the  free  States,  become  the  wives  of 
the  most  wealthy  and  the  best  educated  slaveholders. 
The  class  of  literary  slaveholders  is  very  small ;  but 
they  often  seek  Northern  ladies  for  wives,  appreciating 
their  superior  literary  and  intellectual  endowments,  and 
their  domestic  qualifications. 

The  young  men  who  go  South  to  teach,  or  to  engage 
in  the  practice  of  any  literary  profession,  often  become 
connected  by  marriage  with  the  families  of  wealthy 
slaveholders,  and  then  they  are  generally  advocates  of 
slavery. 

It  is  impossible  to  maintain  as  good  government  in 
the  schools  in  the  slave  States  as  we  have  in  the  free 
States.  There  is  not  that  substantial  family  discipline 
maintained,  and  the  salutary  home  influence  in  the  South, 
that  are  every  where  seen  in  New  England.  The  slave- 


238  INSIDE   VIEW   OF    SLAVERY, 

holder  does  not  return  home  from  his  haunts  of  dissipa 
tion,  or  his  amusements,  and  gather  his  family  around 
the  fireside,  to  converse-  with  them  about  their  welfare., 
and  the  interests  of  society,  like  the  Northern  farmer, 
merchant,  or  mechanic,  when  the  labors  of  the  day  are 
finished. 

It  is  a  proverb  in  New  England,  that  where  the  chil 
dren  are  not  governed  at  home,  they  cannot,  without 
trouble,  be  made  to  mind  in  school.  This  is  lamentably 
verified  In  the  schools  of  the  South.  The  child  of  the 
slaveholder  is  taught  to  resist  every  insult,  every  ag 
gression  upon  his  rights,  with  physical  force,  and,  if  need 
be,  with  a  fatal  weapon.  He  is  instructed  to  regard  a 
"coward"  as  the  meanest,  most  odious  character  in  the 
world,  and  he  shuns  no  danger  to  avoid  such  an  oppro 
brious  epithet.  Thus  the  son  is  often  first  sent  to  the 
pistol  gallery,  before  he  is  taught  to  read. 

I  was  In  company  with  a  learned  physician  from  Mass 
achusetts,  sitting  under  a  tree  near  an  academy  in 
Georgia,  when  five  boys,  just  dismissed  from  school, 
commenced  pitching  knives  at  a  tree.  Two  of  these 
boys,  whose  names  were  George  and  John,  had  a  falling 
out.  George  took  up  a  piece  of  limestone,  as  large  as 
his  fist,  and  threw  it  with  great  violence  towards  John, 
who  was  standing  near  a  large  oak  tree.  "When  John 
saw  the  stone  coming  directly  towards  him,  he  sprang 
behind  the  tree. 

"There  John!  you  mean  coward !"  said  George,  con 
temptuously;  "  dodge  behind  a  tree,  eh!  You  mean 
dog !  I'll  have  nothing  more  to  say  to  you ! " 


SLAVERY   AND   EDUCATION,,  239 

George  turned  and  walked  off  the  play  ground,  with 
that  air  peculiar  to  a  slaveholder,  as  though  the  earth 
W£re  too  mean  for  such  a  hero  to  tread.  The  other 
three  boys  repeated  George's  words,  exclaiming  simul-. 
taneously, 

"You  are  a  mean  coward,  John!  Dodge  behind  a 
tree  !  Afraid  of  a  little  stone,  are  you  ?  We'll  never 
play  with  you  again." 

And  they  all  started  off  after  the  hero  George,  and 
left  poor  disconsolate  Johnny  standing  behind  the  tree, 
speechless,  motionless,  disgraced. 

Let  that  scene  be  repeated  the  next  day,  and  Johnny 
would  not  dodge  the  stone.  He  would  not  endure 
another  frown  of  public  opinion  like  that,  and  thus  lose 
the  confidence  and  companionship  of  all  his  little  com 
rades.  He  will  "  stand  his  ground  "  the  next  time — and 
then,  as  he  advances  in  years,  he  will  take  the  knife, 
and,  at  last,  the  bullet,  preferring  death  to  the  name  and 
disgrace  of  a  coward. 

These  habits  of  resistance  are  carried  into  the  schools, 
and  oppose  wholesome  restraint  there.  One  of  the 
female  teachers  in  a  slave  State  informed  me  that  she 
had  a  boy  in  her  school  only  eight  years  of  age,  who 
had  transgressed  an  important  rule  of  the  school,  and 
she  ordered  him  to  come  up  to  the  desk.  The  little 
fellow  drew  his  knife,  and  defied  her  to  punish  him. 
She  waited  sometime,  until  the  boy  was  off  his  guard, 
when,  she  caught  him  by  the  arm,  dragged  him  out  of  his 
scat,  and  inflicted  the  punishment. 

Immediately  after  this,  a  brother  of  this  lad,  only  ten 


240  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

years  of  age,  openly  violated  the  same  law,  and  she 
commanded  him  to  come  forward.  She  said  that  she 
did  not  suspect  there  was  a  pistol  in  her  school,  until 
this  boy  thrust  his  hand  over  behind  his  head,  and  pulled 
out  a  pistol  from  under  the  neck  of  his  jacket,  cocked 
it,  pointed  it  towards  her,  and  exclaimed, 

"  Now  ferule  me,  if  you  dare  ! " 

In  the  evening  this  teacher  visited  the  family,  and  in 
quired  of  the  father  of  those  boys  how  he  wished  her 
to  manage  them. 

"I  can  beat  my  boys  enough  at  home,  madam,"  was 
his  insulting  reply. 

A  friend  of  mine  from  Maine — a  graduate  of  Bowdoin 
College — is  teaching  in  Tennessee.  I  recently  saw  a 
letter  which  this  young  gentleman  wrote  to  his  father,  in 
which  he  stated  that  twice  during  the  last  term,  when  he 
attempted  to  punish  boys  belonging  to  his  academy, 
they  had  drawn  pistols  upon  him,  and  he  was  unable  to 
inflict  the  punishment. 

The  murder  of  Mr.  Butler,  in  Kentucky,  by  Ward, 
whose  acquittal  I  have  already  alluded  to  as  illustrating 
the  administration  of  justice  in  the  South,  shows  how 
difficult  it  is  for  a  teacher,  in  the  slave  States,  to  main 
tain  that  discipline  without  which  no  school  is  of  much 
value.  The  facts  are  so  well  known  that  I  need  not  re 
peat  them.  A  similar  case  has  lately  occurred  in  another 
slave  State,  an  account  of  which  I  copy  from  the  Nash 
ville  Whig  of  June  18th. 

"  We  learn,  from  a  gentleman  who  was  an  eye-witness, 
the  following  particulars  of  a  most  horrible  and  tragical 


SLAVERY    AND    EDUCATION.  241 

affair  that  occurred  at  Pontotoc,  Miss.,  on  Monday  last. 
It  appears  that  Mr.  Brown,  the  principal  of  the  male 
academy  at  Pontotoc,  had  punished  one  of  his  pupils 
about  a  week  since.  A  brother  of  the  boy  that  was 
whipped,  by  the  name  of  Wray,  made  threats  against  Mr. 
Brown  for  the  aforesaid  punishment,  to  which  but  little 
attention  was  paid.  On  Monday,  young'  Wray,  a  youth 
some  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  old,  took  a  position 
where  Mr.  Brown  would  pass  on  his  way  home  from 
school,  and  waited  until  be  came  along,  when  Wray  at- 
tacivcd  him. 

The  two  clinched,  Brown  only  acting  in  self  defense, 
am.l  those  who  saw  it  thought  it  only  to  be  a  scuffle  be 
tween  tliCiiL  until  they  saw  Brown  run  a  few  yards,  his 
hands  upon  hi.-j  abdomen,  and  fall  clown  lifeless.  While 
they  were  clinched,  Wray  had  iiniicted  two  wounds  upon 
Brown  with  a  large  bowie  knife,  which  killed  him  almost 
instantly." 

Will  the  murderer  be  punished  for  his  crime  ?  We 
shall  see. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  my  surprise  to  find  the 
houses  of  slaveholders  so  generally  destitute  of  books. 
Even  wealthy  men  of  this  class,  who  can  read  themselves, 
arc  frequently  found  without  more  than  half  a  dozen 
books  in  their  families.  In  conversation  upon  this  sub 
ject  with  a  slaveholder,  who  was  a  native  of  New  Eng 
land, —  a  gentleman  of  fine  talents  and  great  learning, 
and  for  many  years  devoted  to  improvements  in  systems 
of  education,  —  he  confessed  his  astonishment  at  finding 
21 


242  JNSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

so  few  literary  men  and  so  great  a  paucity  of  books  in 
the  South.  He  said  he  had  been  in  every  State  in  the 
Union,  except  California,  on  business  that  gave  him  an 
acquaintance  with  educated  men  —  that  he  was  well  ac 
quainted  in  Maine  —  •  and  that  he  had  no  doubt  there 
were  more  books,  and  more  men  of  liberal  education,  and 
more  business  talent  in  the  city  of  Portland,  with  its 
twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants,  than  in  the  whole  State 
of  Georgia,  —  and  more  in  the  State  of  Maine,  with  her 
half  a  million  inhabitants,  than  in  all  the  slave  States ! 
No  gentleman  in  the  country  was  better  qualified  to 
make  the  comparison,  as  he  had  no  motive  to  make 
one  unfavorable  to  the  South,  being  identified  with  all 
its  interests  and  institutions. 

I  visited  the  academy  in  the  city  of  D.,  Georgia. 
Sixteen  pupils  only  were  present  on  examination  day. 
Long  seats,  without  backs  or  writing  desks,  and  a  small 
black-board,  composed  the  whole  inventory  of  accom 
modations,  fixtures,  and  apparatus.  This  school  was  in 
operation  only  during  the  winter  term. 

While  the  teacher  was  demonstrating  a  sum  on  the 
board,  two  lads  had  a  misunderstanding,  and  one  of 
them  knocked  the  other  down.  The  noise  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  teacher,  who  looked  around  before  the 
boy  had  time  to  get  up ;  but  he  took  no  notice  of  it. 
The  recitations  in  reading  and  arithmetic  —  writing  was 
inadmissible  for  want  of  writing  desks  —  were  far  infe 
rior  to  those  in  the  common  schools  of  New  England. 

O 

I  visited  a  school  in  M.  county,  where  there  were  four- 


SLAVERY  AND  EDUCATION.          243 

teen  scholars,  and  only  six  books.  The  teacher  was  a 
native  of  that  county,  and  the  only  native  teacher  in  all 
the  Oconee  valley. 

In  the  academy  located  in  the  county  of  L.,  I  found 
a  good  teacher  from  New  Hampshire.  He  assured  me 
that  he  could  not  confine  the  boys  at  school  long  enough, 
without  interruption,  to  teach  them  any  thing  thoroughly. 

"  There,"  said  he,  pointing  ^)  a  lad  ten  years  of  age, 
who  appeared  to  be  bright,  "  is  a  boy  that  has  been  here 
the  most  of  a  whole  term,  —  but  he  has  not  learned  all 
his  letters.  His  father  will  permit  no  restraint  upon 
him  when  he  wishes  for  any  amusement,  —  such  as  gam 
ing  and  fishing,  —  and  it  is  useless  for  me  to  try  to  teach 
him  to  read." 

I  spent  the  night  with  a  slaveholder  in  one  of  the 
planting  districts,  and  I  inquired  if  he  could  read.  He 
said  he  could  not,  nor  could  any  of  his  family,  except 
his  son  Henry.  A  Yankee  schoolmaster  had  visited 
that  place,  and  imposed  upon  the  ignorant  parents  by 
assuring  them  that  he  could  teach  their  children  to  read 
in  a  few  days,  on  an  improved  method  of  teaching  that 
art,  for  which  he  charged  a  high  price,  as  it  was  "  a  great 
saving  of  time."  Henry  and  several  other  boys  in  the 
place  were  sent  to  the  Yankee's  "patent "  school,  where 
they  were  simply  taught  to  repeat  two  of  Watts'  hymns, 
while  looking  on  the  hymn  book.  This  fact  had  pre 
viously  come  to  my  knowledge,  and  I  remarked  to  the 
father  that  I  would  like  to  hear  Henry  read. 

The  old  psalm  book,  the  only  book  in  the  house, 
was  brought  out,  and  Henry  opened  at  the  right  place, 


244  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

and  read  his  two  hymns.  But  I  noticed  the  absence  of 
the  tone  and  emphasis  peculiar  to  an  intelligent  reader. 
I  opened  at  another  place,  and  requested  Henry  to  read 
there. 

"  I  have  not  learned  to  read  that  hymn,  sir,"  he  re 
plied. 

His  father  was  wealthy,  owned  much  land,  and  large 
flocks  and  herds ;  but  neither  he,  nor  his  wife,  nor  either 
of  his  six  children,  could  read  the  alphabet. 

A  slaveholder  in  the  interior,  who  owned  forty  slaves, 
and  a  large  landed  property;  went  to  the  market  with 
ship  timber.  I  purchased  a  raft  of  pine  timber  of  him, 
and  when  1  took  a  receipt  for  it,  he  made  his  mark.  He 
had  nine  sons  —  all  men  grown  —  neither  of  whom  could 
write  his  name.  I  said  to  the  father,  — 

"  Why  in  the  world  have  you  not  expended  a  few  thou 
sand  dollars  of  your  property,  to  have  your  sons  taught 
to  read  and  write  ?  " 

The  old  gentleman  had  no  idea  that  any  advantage 
whatever  was  derived  from  such  knowledge,  except  that 
it  qualified  its  possessor  to  cheat  his  neighbor.  For, 
said  he,  — 

"  I  have  always  been  cheated  most  by  men  who  could 
write.  Send  my  sons  to  school  to  learn  to  read  and 
write  ?  Not  I !  It  would  make  just  such  devils  of  them 
as  you  Yankees  are  ! 

"  I  never  make  my  mark,  when  I  can  help  it,"  he  add 
ed.  "  I  bought  a  clock  once  of  a  man  from  Connecticut, 
warranted  to  last  ninety-nine  years.  The  price  agreed 
upon  was  ten  dollars.  I  had  no  money  by  me,  and  I 


SLAtERY   AND   EDUCATION.  245 

grave  the  pedlcr  an  order  on  a  merchant  for  that  amount; 
as  I  supposed.  But  when  the  order  came  back,  forty 
dollars  were  demanded  of  me.  I  refused  to  pay  more 
than  ten,  and  was  sued.  I  went  into  court,  and  told  the 
judge  that  the  order  was  just  ten  dollars,  and  all  my 
family  were  ready  to  swear  to  it.  But  the  judge  said 
that  the  writing  was  forty :  and  I,  and  all  my  boys 
couldn't  swear  a  dollar  off  from  that. 

4  "Well  judge,'  said  I,  l  if  there  is  so  much  deviltry  in 
writing  as  that,  I  don't  want  my  boys  to  learn  to  write. 
But  look  here,  judge  !  there  is  a  warrant  the  rascal  gave 
me  to  keep  the  clock  going.  He  was  to  pay  back  the 
ten  dollars  if  it  stopped  in  ninety-nine  years,  —  and  it 
stopped  within  a  week.' 

"  The  judge  took  the  paper,  and  looked  at  it,  and  then 
laughed,  as  he  read  it  aloud  —  <  warranted  to  last  ninety- 
nine  years.'1  And  all  the  lawyers  laughed  right  smart. 
The  judge  then  said  to  me, 

1  This  writing,  Capt.  B.,  does  not  warrant  the  clock 
to  keep  time,  but  only  to  last  ninety-nine  years  ;  —  which 
means,  I  suppose,  that  if  you  keep  your  house  well  shin 
gled,  the  clock  will  not  rot  during  all  that  time/ 

"  Now  do  you  suppose  I  am  fool  enough,  since  that," 
said  Capt.  B.,  with  a  significant  turn  of  the  head,  "  to 
believe  there  is  any  benefit  in  learning  to  write  ?  " 

A  description  of  the  guide-posts,  now  in  use  in  some 
districts  of  the  South  may  be  of  some  interest.  There 
is  a  general  trail  through  the  woods,  and  across  the  old 
plantations,  from  one  county  seat  to  another,  which  en 
ables  the  traveler  to  keep  the  right  direction.  But  mile- 


246  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

posts  are  erected,  having  as  many  notches  cut  in  them 
as  there  are  miles  between  each  post  and  the  next  coun 
ty  seat.  These  posts  are  hard  pine,  hewn  six  inches 
square,  and  standing  several  feet  out  of  the  ground. 
Four  grooves  are  cut  half  way  across  the  post,  for  the 
first  four  numerals;  then  one  entirely  across  for  the 
fifth, — -then  four  more  half  lines  for  the  next  four  num 
bers,  and  another  whole  line  for  the  tenth. 

I  was  much  amused  while  riding  with  a  slaveholder  in 
an  old  mule-cart  one  very  dark,  rainy  evening,  with  his 
slave,  "  Pompey,"  for  a  driver.  The  master  discovered 
the  top  of  a  mile-post,  on  a  hill ;  and  he  told  Pompey  to 
jump  out  and  see  how  far  they  were  from  home.  Pom 
pey  alighted,  and  counted  up,  "one,  two,  three,  four;" 
but  when  his  finger  reached  the  fifth  groove,  in  tracing 
it  out,  he  found  it  was  no  longer  than  either  of  the  first 
four,  and  he  was  perplexed ;  for  he  had  no  idea  of  "  five," 
except  that  it  was  twice  as  long  as  either  of  the  other 
numerals. 

As  I  returned  the  next  day,  I  perceived  what  had 
bothered  him.  Some  roguish  boy  had  cut  off  tho  long 
end  of  the  five,  making  it  equal  in  length  to  all  above 
and  below  it  —  as  the  distance  was  nine  miles. 

After  fumbling  over  the  notches  awhile,  and  stuttering 
in  loud  whispers,  with  the  rain  pelting  his  bare  head 
severely,  he  exclaimed,  — 

"  Master,  what  devilish  fool  made  this  guide-post !  No 
five  here!  All  one,  two.  three,  four — ono,  two  three, 
four ! " 

Following  the  line  of  these  guide-posts,  1  was  dropped 


SLAVERY   AND    EDUCATION.  247 

down  at  a  log-house  tavern.  After  supper,  I  inquired 
of  the  landlord,  whose  father  was  from  New  England,  if 
there  was  any  thing  going  on  in  that  village  of  a  literary 
nature,  to  interest  a  stranger. 

"  Nothing,  sir,"  said  he, "  except  a  singing  school.  We 
have  a  very  good  singing  school  this  winter.  They  are 
singing  now,  right  out  there  at  the  school  house." 

I  started  at  once  for  the  school  house,  wondering  how 
music  could  be  taught,  where  so  many  of  the  people  could 
not  read.  When  I  arrived  at  the  building,  I  saw  it  was 
an  old,  black,  log  house,  built  by  the  pioneers.  There 
was  a  large  opening  in  one  end,  too  wide  to  be  closed 
by  a  door ;  and  as  the  music  was  in  progress,  and  others 
vrerG  passing  in,  I  mingled  with  the  crowd,  and  entering 
in,  took  a  stand  in  the  corner.  There  was  no  light  in 
the  room  except  what  came  from  the  pitch-wood  in  the 
rock  fireplace.  There  was  no  book  in  the  school.  All 
were  taught  by  rote.  Sixty  pupils,  three  of  whom  were 
colored,  were  singing  all  on  one  part  —  the  treble.  Oc 
casionally  the  colored  boys  —  who  have  better  ears,  put 
in  the  harmony. 

Soon  as  the  choir  came  to  a  period,  I  said  to  the  teach 
er  that  I  hoped  he  would  excuse  my  intrusion  there,  as 
I  was  fond  of  good  music.  He  was  very  polite,  and 
said  that  "  no  apology  was  necessary,  as  he  was  gratified 
to  have  me  present."  He  seemed  conscious  of  ability 
to  teach  music,  and  asked  me  if  they  did  not  sing  well. 

"  Remarkably  well,"  I  replied,  —  for  I  was  indeed  sur 
prised  to  hear  them  sing  so  well.  "  Buir  do  you  not  use 
books,  sir,  in  teaching  music?"  I  asked,  with  a  little 


248  INSIPE    VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

«  0,  no,  sir,"  lie  replied  quickly,  in  a  tone  of  decided 
prejudice  against  book  knowledge.  "We  don't  believe 
in  this  blind  note-singing,  here." 

The  next  morning  a  member  of  that  school,  a  young  man 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  the  son  of  a  slaveholder,  came 
to  the  tavern  and  desired  me  to  inform  him  "  what  kind 
of  a  thing  a  singing  book  was/'  —  assuring  me  that  he 
had  never  seen  one. 

Ex-Governor  Gilmcr,  of  Georgia,  in  an  address  be 
fore  the  members  of  the  legislature  of  that  State,  on  the 
subject  of  temperance,  is  reported  to  have  said  — 

"  I  hope  the  time  is  rapidly  passing  away,  when  the 
old  may  lead  the  young  to  dram  shops ;  when  daily  fights 
between  neighbors,  in  cups,  make  delightful  amusement 
for  the  crowd ;  —  and  when  members  of  the  legislature 
cannot  read  the  laws  they  help  to  pass ! " 

In  the  early  history  of  our  country,  when  books  were 
scarce  and  expensive,  our  fathers  were  in  the  habit  of 
singing  at  church  without  hymn  books,  —  the  minister 
reading  aloud  one  line  at  a  time,  and  then  the  congrega 
tion  joining  to  sing  it.  Since  the  multiplication  of  books, 
this  practice  is  discontinued.  But  it  still  prevails  in  the 
South.  I  noticed  it  in  five  different  comities  in  Georgia. 
In  such  cases  there  are  no  books  except  the  one  used  by 
the  clergyman.  Arid  in  one  case,  a  Presbyterian  minis 
ter,  preaching  in  the  city  where  I  spent  the  Sabbath,  find 
ing  no  hymn  book  in  the  church,  was  obliged  to  wait  un 
til  a  boy  went  out  to  hunt  one  up. 

About  five  thousand,  of  the  nearly  four  hundred  thou 
sand  slaves  in  Georgia,  have  been  taught  to  read  and 


SLAVERY   AND    EDUCATION.  249 

write.  These  are  generally  owned  by  wealthy  slave 
holders,  who  have  them  taught  in  spite  of  the  laws  for 
bidding  it,  when  it  will  better  serve  their  own  interest 
and  convenience.  It  is  a  fine  of  thirty  dollars  and  thirty- 
nine  lashes  to  teach  a  slave  to  read  in  the  city  of  Savan 
nah.  But  wealthy  slaveholders  are  above  all  law,  ex 
cept  the  conventional  code  of  their  own  caste  ,  and  when 
they  want  servants  to  go  to  market  to  transact  business, 
to  pass  letters  and  papers  from  family  to  family,  they 
learn  them-  to  read  names,  and  to  write  simple  direc 
tions,  and  reckon  small  sums. 

Sometimes  also,  the  children  of  clergymen  are  encour 
aged  to  instruct  young  slaves,  and  it  is  winked  at,  —  as 
an  indulgence  to  the  clerical  office.  But  the^>oor  slave 
holders —  and  the  mass  are  poor  —  never  venture  to 
learn  their  slaves  to  read.  They  are  opposed  to  such 
instruction.  And  only  a  few  slaves,  therefore,  —  the  fa 
vored  house  servants  of  the  wealthy,  —  are  taught  to 
read.  Though,  occasionally,  an  intelligent  slave,  thirst 
ing  for  knowledge,  secretly  learns  the  art  without  any 
assistance. 

It  is  a  fact  often  overlooked,  that  the  free  colored 
people  of  this  country  nearly  all  remain  in  the  South. 
This  is  not  because  they  have  any  privileges  there  which 
they  prize.  —  but  mainly  on  account  of  the  climate.  In 
the  four  States  of  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  the  two  Caro- 
linas,  in  1850  the  free  colored  population  was  93,000. 
If  any  Northern  men  have  feared  that  the  slaves,  incase 
of  emancipation,  would  emigrate  in  large  numbers  to  the 
free  States,  a  glance  at  the  census  tables  will  show  them 


250  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

how  groundless  are  their  fears.  The  slaves,  if  set  free, 
will  always  be  wanted  in  the  South.  All  the  difference 
emancipation  will  make,  will  be  the  restoration  of  their 
rights,  and  free,  voluntary  labor,  for  a  just  compensa 
tion,  instead  of  compulsory,  unpaid  toil.  The  fact  that 
the  great  body  of  free  colored  men  now  prefer  to  live 
in  the  South,  where  they  are  denied  all  rights  as  citi 
zens,  —  where  it  is  a  criminal  offense  to  teach  them  the 
alphabet,  is  sufficient  proof  that  the  South  is  their  natu 
ral  home.  My  present  inquiry,  however,  is  how  far  this 
large  class  of  the  population  of  this  country  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  education.  In  this  respect  the  laws  of  the 
slave  States  rank  them  with  the  slaves.  All  instruction 
is  forbidden  under  heavy  penalties.  • 

I  have  frequently  alluded  to  the  fact  that  slavery,  in 
Virginia,  is  divested  of  many  of  its  harshest  features. 
In  that  State  there  is  a  free  colored  population  of  some 
sixty  thousand.  The  Governor  has  for  several  years 
gravely  recommended  that  they  all  be  driven  from  the 
State !  This  inhuman  and  barbarous  scheme  has  been 
discussed  in  the  legislature,  but  has  so  far  failed.  Still, 
in  Virginia,  as  in  other  slave  States,  the  laws  prohibit 
any  instruction  of  these  persons.  The  following  narra 
tive  will  show  the  state  of  public  opinion  there,  and  in 
the  light  of  it  we  may  see  the  condition  of  the  free  col 
ored  population  of  the  South. 

About  two  years  ago,  a  Mrs.  Douglas,  of  Norfolk,  and 
her  daughter,  were  arrested,  and  she  was  imprisoned  in 
that  city,  for  teaching  colored  children  to  read.  After 
she  had  suffered  the  penalty  provided  by  law,  and  was 


SLAVERY   AND    EDUCATION.  251 

set  at  liberty,  she  published  a  little  volume,  giving  an 
account  of  the  circumstances.  Her  story  is  one  of 
much  interest.  She  is  a  native  of  the  South,  having 
been  born  in  the  city  of  Washington.  She  states  that 
in  1845  she  removed  to  Norfolk,  where,  with  an  only 
daughter,  she  lived  a  quiet  and  unobtrusive  life,  until 
Dec.,  1853.  She  supported  herself  and  child  by  vest 
making,  and  was  at  last  induced,  by  the  force  of  circum 
stances,  to  engage  in  the  religious  and  moral  instruction 
of  a  few  free  colored  children.  Her  first  pupils  were 
three  girls  and  two  boys,  the  children  of  a  barber,  all 
of  whose  family  were  free.  The  circumstances  of  the 
arrest  are  thus  stated : 

"All  was  going  on  as  peaceable  as  usual,  and  I  had 
taken  my  seat  to  commence  my  daily  toil,  when  a  loud 
knock  was  made  at  my  front  door.  I  answered  it  my 
self,  when  the  face  of  an  officer  presented  itself,  who  in 
quired  who  lived  up  stairs.  I  replied  that  I  alone 
occupied  the  house.  He  then  asked  if  Mrs.  Douglas 
lived  there.  I  told  him  that  I  was  Mrs.  Douglas. 

He  said,  "You  keep  a  school?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  was  my  reply. 

"A  school  for  colored  children  ?  " 

I  answered,  "  yes." 

"I  must  see  those  children,"  said  he. 

I  then  demanded  what  business  he  had  with  them,  or 
anything  in  my  house.  He  replied,  that  he  had  been 
sent  by  the  mayor. 

"Very  good,"  said  I;  "walk  in,  and  you  shall  see 
them."  And,  without  giving  my  daughter  or  the  chil- 


252  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

clren  any  notice,  I  invited  him  up  into  the  school  room. 
Never  will  I  forget  the  frightened  state  of  those  chil 
dren,  and  the  countenance  of  their  young  teacher.  My 
daughter  sat  paralyzed,  covering  her  face  with  her  hands ; 
and  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  restore  ^>rder  in 
the  room.  Some  were  crying,  some  exclaiming,  "  Oh 
my  !  oh  my  ! "  and  some  clinging  around  me  in  their  ter 
ror  ;  but  during  the  excitement  I  never  lost  my  presence 
of  mind. 

As  soon  as  I  had  restored  quiet  in  the  room,  I  in 
quired  of  Mr.  Cherry,  the  city  constable,  what  he 
wanted  with  those  children.  He  replied  that  he  must 
take  them  before  the  mayor. 

"Very  well,"  said  I,  "my  daughter  and  myself  will 
accompany  them." 

To  my  astonishment,  he  went  to  the  head  of  the  stairs 
and  gave  a  loud  rap  with  his  club,  when  another  officer 
made  his  appearance,  entering  from  the  back  door.  For 
a  moment  I  thought  my  house  was  surrounded  by  officers, 
who  perhaps  fancied  they  had  found  a  nest  of  thieves. 
They  then  noted  down  the  names  of  all  the  children,  as 
well  as  those  of  their  parents.  When  they  had  finished, 
I  politely  informed  Mr.  Cherry  that  they  were  all  free 
children,  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  members  of  the  Christ's 
Church  Sunday  School. 

"It  makes  no  difference,  madam,"  replied  he  ;  "it  is  a 
violation  of  the  law  to  teach  any  person  of  color  to 
read  or  write,  slave  or  free ;  and  an  act  punishable  by 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary." 

u  Very  well,"  I  replied,  "  if  they  send  me  to  the  pen. 


SLAVERY   AND   EDUCATION.  253 

itentiary,  it  will  be  in  a  good  cause,  and  not  a  disgrace 
ful  one." 

"  Even  this  information,  which  was  the  most  profound 
news  to  me,  did  not  unnerve  me  at  all;  for  I  remem 
bered  that  our  Savior  was  persecuted  for  dmng  good, 
and  why  should  I  not  be  ?  This  thought  strengthened 
me  to  bear  my  own  persecution  for  ten  long  months 
afterwards." 

99 


XX. 

SLAVERY  AND  THE  SABBATH. 

"  Oh  !  welcome  to  the  \vearied  Earth 

The  Sabbath  resting  comes, 

Gathering  the  sons  of  toil  and  care 

Back  to  their  peaceful  homes  ; 

And,  like  a  portal  to  the  sides, 

Opens  the  House  of  God, 

Where  all  who  seek  may  come  and  learn 

The  way  the  Savior  trod."  MRS.  HALE. 

ONE  of  the  strangest  sights  to  a  New  England  man, 
on  visiting  the  Southern  States,  is  the  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath.  In  some  of  the  cities,  especially  if  a  good 
number  of  the  business  men  are  from  the  North,  the 
churches  are  tolerably  well  attended,  —  there  being  but 
one  service  for  the  day.  But  even  here  the  afternoon 
and  evening  are  much  devoted  to  amusements.  And,  in 
fact,  throughout  the  entire  South,  with  not  very  numer 
ous  exceptions,  the  Sabbath,  instead  of  being  a  day  of 
rest,  or  of  worship,  is  a  holiday  —  occupied  mainly  in 
pleasure  and  sport. 

The  first  sounds  that  salute  the  ear,  not  only  in  the 
country,  but  in  many  of  the  cities  of  the  South,  on  Sab 
bath  morning,  are  the  firing  of  guns,  the  beating  of  drums, 


SLAVERY   AND   THE    SABBATH.  255 

and  the  noise  of  the  hunting  horn.  They  have  boat  par- 
tics,  riding  parties,  hunting  parties,  fishino:  pa.rtics;  drink 
ing  parties,  gaming  parties,  and  dancing  par  tie  And 
the  Sabbath  is  almost  invariably  the  day  i  ;  •  ^  aces, 

and  military  parades.  A  colporteur  of  the  American 
Tract  Society,  writing  to  the  Maine  Christian  Mirror, 
under  date  of  May  9,  1854,  says  — 

"  In  Mississippi,  where  I  am  laboring,  drinking,  gam- 
ing,  and  horse  racing  are  common  on  the  Sabbath  —  and 
the  Sabbath  is  distinguished  from  other  days  by  the  firing 
of  guns." 

There  is  more  travel  in  the  South  on  the  Sabbath,  than 
on  any  other  day  of  the  week.  To  ascertain  this  fact  I 
examined  the  registers  at  the  boat  offices,  hotels,  and 
public  boarding  houses ;  and  I  uniformly  found  that  a 
larger  number  of  names  was  entered  by  travelers  on  the 
Sabbath  than  on  any  other  .day.  The  Sabbath  is  spent 
by  travelers  not  only  in  visiting  friends,  but  in  traveling 
long  distances  on  business.  The  passenger  trains  on 
the  railroads  run  for  this  purpose.  The  boats  on  the 
rivers  are  employed  in  this  service.  And  clergymen, 
except  when  their  duties  confine  them  at  home,  are  quite 
as  likely  to  travel  on  the  Sabbath  as  others.  I  was  told 
by  a  delegate  from  a  Xew  England  Conference  to  the 
Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  that  a  large  part  of  the 
Southern  ministers  who  were  there,  traveled  on  the  Sab 
bath  before  that  body  convened. 

Sabbath  evening  in  the  South  is  a  time  of  unusual  dis 
sipation.  Theaters  and  other  like  places  of  amusement 
are  open,  and  thronged  more  than  any  other  evening; 


256  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

while  the  drinking  saloons,  billiard  rooms,  and  other 
dens  of  infamy,  are  frequented  by  the  riotous  and  noisy 
crowd. 

A  large  majority  of  the  slaves  labor  on  the  Sabbath, 
almost  from  necessity.  In  some  of  the  cities  most  of 
them  rest ;  but  in  the  planting  districts  many  of  them 
labor  more  or  less  —  not  usually  at  the  daily  task  —  but 
they  wash  and  iron,  make  and  mend  their  garments,  cut 
wood,  and  work  in  their  gardens. 

But  the  slaves  do  not  labor  for  themselves  alone.  In 
the  planting  districts,  especially  during  the  busy  season 
of  the  year,  the  slaves  are  not  permitted  to  make  the  Sab 
bath  even  a  holiday.  Instances  arc  by  no  means  rare, 
even  among  masters  professing  to  be  Christians,  in  which 
the  slaves  are  compelled  to  labor  on  the  Sabbath  as  on 
other  clays. 

Rev.  H.  B.  Abbott,  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church  at 
Augusta,  Me.,  was  formerly  a  counselor  at  law  in  Mis 
sissippi.  In  a  letter  to  me  dated  April  10,  1854,  he 
says  — 

"  I  am  acquainted  with  a  Baptist  preacher  in  Missis 
sippi  who  compelled  his  slaves  to  labor  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  justified  himself  under  the  pica  that,  if  they  were 
not  at  work,  they  would  be  sporting,  and  roving  about 
the  fields  and  woods,  thereby  desecrating  the  Sabbath 
more  than  by  laboring  under  an  overseer." 

I  was  spending  a  Sabbath  in  the  city  of  A.  Early  in 
the  day  I  noticed  the  planters  from  the  surrounding 
country,  coming  in  to  attend  the  morning  service.  Many 
of  them  were  members  of  the  city  churches.  They  re- 


SLAVERY   AND   THE  SABBATH.  257 

maincd  in  the  city  after  the  meetings  were  closed,  and 
about  noon,  or  a  little  later,  their  slaves  began  to  arrive, 
with  mule  teams,  loaded  with  cotton,  and  other  kinds  of 
produce.  In  the  afternoon  the  stores  were  opened,  and 
these  Christian  slaveholders  exchanged  their  produce 
for  groceries,  and  other  commodities,  with  which  they 
sent  their  slaves  home,  while  they  remained,  drinking 
whisky  and  cracking  jokes,  until  the  cool  of  the  even 
ing. 

The  Sabbath  before  the  State  election,  is  denominated 
"free  liquor  day"  in  Georgia,  —  a  strange  title  for  that 
day,  in  a  Christian  land.  It  is  so  called,  from  the  cus 
tom  of  those  who  are  candidates  for  office  to  invite  all 
who  propose  to  vote  for  them  to  their  "  head  quarters," 
on  that  day,  to  partake  of  spirituous  liquors  at  their  ex 
pense. 

In  the  old  city  of  Augusta,  Georgia,  it  seemed  more 
like  home  to  me  on  the  Sabbath,  than  at  any  place  I  vis 
ited  in  the  South.  The  people  generally  attended  church, 
and  refrained  from  labor,  and  from  amusements. 

At  Savannah  the  Independent  Presbyterian  church 
was  well  filled.  The  Episcopal  church  also,  in  that  city, 
had  no  vacant  seats.  But  few  were  present  at  the  Pres 
byterian  and  Unitarian  churches.  In  the  latter,  Rev. 
Mr.  Piorpont,  the  pastor,  was  honored  with  only  forty- 
two  auditors,  on  a  pleasant  Sabbath.  I  heard  a  clergy 
man  state  at  a  temperance  meeting  in  Savannah,  that 
there  were  fourteen  hundred  members  of  evangelical 
churches  in  that  city,  and  the  average  attendance  upon 
divine  worship  was  not  more  than  sixteen  hundred.  The 


258  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

free  population  was  about  fifteen  thousand.  One  reason 
he  gave  for  this,  was,  that  many  of  the  people  were  ac 
customed  to  be  intoxicated  Saturday  night,  and  there 
fore,  were  unable  to  attend  church  on  the  Sabbath. 

A  respectable  number  were  present  at  some  of  the 
churches  in  Macon,  Lagrange,  and  other  places  where 
schools  are  kept  in  operation.  But  in  the  planting  dis 
tricts, —  where  nine-tenths  of  the  white  population  re 
side, —  there  is  seldom  a  congregation  of  more  than 
fifty  persons  collected  in  a  church,  and  these  are  few  and 
far  between. 

I  passed  a  beautiful  Christmas  Sabbath  at  Albany,  tho 
county  seat  of  Baker  county.  This  city  contains  some 
twenty  stores,  and  exports  annually  about  12,000  bales 
of  cotton.  The  Baptist  clergyman  was  sick,  —  the  Pres 
byterian  clergyman  had  gone  away  discouraged,  —  and 
the  Methodist  church  was  the  only  one  opened  on  that 
day.  Thirty -nine  persons  only  were  present  at  that 
church,  three  of  whom  were  colored.  There  were  three 
thousand  souls  within  sound  of  a  church-going  bell,  had 
there  been  one.  Where  were  they  ? 

At  Oglcthorpe,  a  smart  young  city  at  the  termination 
of  the  South-western  railroad,  where  there  was  a  pop 
ulation  of  over  three  thousand,  there  was  no  church  ser 
vice  during  the  Sabbath  I  spent  there. 

At  Dublin,  an  old  city,  Rev.  Mr.  Parsons,  Presbyteri 
an,  preached  to  a  congregation  of  forty-eight,  —  two  of 
whom  were  slaves,  —  on  a  pleasant  Sabbath.  There 
was  no  other  church  in  that  city.  The  population  was 
two  thousand. 


SLAVERY   AND    THE   SABBATII.  259 

All  over  the  planting  districts,  as  I  have  before  said, 
very  few  attend  church,  and  very  few  of  the  churches 
have  constant  preaching.  There  was  not  a  settled  min 
ister  of  the  gospel,  of  any  denomination,  who  preached 
constantly  at  the  same  place,  for  more  than  two  hundred 
miles,  on  the  stage  road  leading  from  the  coast  to  the 
capital;  and  yet,  in  each  of  those  counties,  from  six  to 
thirteen  churches  are  returned  in  the  census.  Traveling 
ministers  preach  at  several  different  stations,  and  the 
number  of  sermons  delivered  at  each  church  will  not 
average  more  than  one  a  month. 

A  colporteur  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  in  1854, 
reports  of  one  of  the  counties  of  North  Carolina,  that 
"  three-fourths  of  the  people  are  destitute  of  public  ser 
vices  on  the  Sabbath  ;  and  that  about  one-third  of  the 
parents  can  read  and  write,  cast  accounts,  and  guage  a 
barrel  of  brandy." 

Another  says,  "I  visited  GO  families,  numbering  221 
souls  over  ten  years  of  age;  only  23  could  read,  and  17 
write ;  41  were  destitute  of  the  Bible ;  the  average  of 
their  going  to  church  was  once  in  7  years.  Several  be 
tween  30  and  45  years  old  had  heard  but  one  or  two 
sermons  in  their  lives.  Some  grown  up  youths  had  nev 
er  heard  a  sermon  or  a  prayer  until  my  visit,  and  did  not 
know  of  such  a  being  as  a  Savior ;  and  girls  and  boys 
from  ten  to  fifteen  did  not  know  who  made  them.  All 
of  one  family  rushed  away  when  I  knelt  to  pray,  to  a 
neighbor's,  begging  them  to  tell  what  I  meant  by  it." 

I  have  already  given  a  brief  description  of  the  church 
es  in  the  planting  districts  of  the  South.  Like  the  abodes 


260  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

of  the  planters,  they  are  rough,  and  rude,  throughout. 
They  are  often  made  of  logs,  are  destitute  of  windows, 
without  pews,  or  pulpits.  Instead  of  these,  there  are 
rough  seats,  without  backs  or  benches,  where  the  preach 
er  and  the  "crowd"  sit  together  on  a  common  level. 
These  rude  buildings  are  not  kept  sacred  as  temples  of 
worship.  The  wild,  uncultivated  habits  of  the  people 
are  inconsistent  with  such  an  idea.  Hence  the  church 
is  free  for  any  other  exercise,  or  for  any  kind  of  amuse 
ments. 

I  attended  church  in  M county,  one  Sabbath, 

where  more  than  half  the  }Toung  men  who  came  to  attend 
the  meeting,  remained  out  of  doors.  They  kept  pass 
ing  in  and  out  in  little  squads  of  two  -or  three  at  a  time, 
and  very  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  services.  It  was 
a  log  church,  with  no  windows,  and  only  one  narrow 
door,  which  was  kept  open ;  and  from  my  seat  I  noticed 
some  young  men  drinking  on  the  outside.  A  little  dis 
tance  beyond  were  some  gaining  tables,  —  and  further 
out  into  the  woods  they  were  trotting  horses. 

In  another  county  I  attended  church  where  both  the 
house  and  the  people  were  equally  coarse  and  repulsive. 
Being  invited,  with  the  clergyman,  after  the  close  of  ser 
vice,  to  pass  the  evening  and  night  in  the  family  of  a 
Christian  slaveholder,  I  accepted  the  invitation.  I  had 
previously  been  informed  by  the  clergyman  that  our  host, 
Mr.  D.,  was  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  world,  —  always 
looking  up  objects  of  charity,  —  giving  bread  to  the  hun 
gry,  bestowing  kind  attentions  upon  the  sick,  the  bereaved, 
and  the  distressed. 


SLAVERY   AND    THE   SABBATH,  261 

Mr.  D.  was  one  of  three  members,  in  a  church  cf  forty, 
who  had  embraced  temperance  principles.  He  had 
heartily  espoused  the  cause,  "was  fully  convinced  that 
total  abstinence  was  the  only  remedy  for  intemperance, 
and  nothing  could  induce  him  to  take  a  drop  of  any 
thing  containing  alcohol,  unless  he  believed  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  his  health.  I  had  previously  addressed  a 
temperance  meeting  in  that  place,  and  Mr.  D.  had  ex 
pressed  much  gratitude  for  the  apparently  good  impres 
sion  made,  and  a  hope  that  it  might  influence  church 
members,  at  least,  to  become  sober  men. 

Mr.  D.  owned  a  large  real  estate,  numerous  flocks, 
and  herds,  and  swine,  all  roaming  at  large  in  the  forests. 
He  and  his  excellent  wife  were  about  fifty  years  of  age. 
They  had  both  sons  and  daughters  of  age,  and  they 
owned  one  slave  girl  —  Nelly  —  a  bright,  smart  quad 
roon.  But  Mrs.  D.  and  her  daughters  worked  in  the 
kitchen  with  Xelly,  and  the  sons  labored  with  Mr.  D.  on 
the  farm. 

When  we  arrived  at  their  house,  after  the  morning 
exercises  at  the  church,  I  noticed  that  the  sons  and 
daughters  did  not  come  home ;  and  I  asked  the  father 
where  his  children  were. 

"  0,  they  have  stopped  at  the  meeting  house,  I  sup 
pose,"  replied  he. 

"  For  what  purpose  ?  "  I  asked.  "  There  is  no  meet 
ing  this  afternoon." 

"  I  know  that,"  said  he ;  "  but  the  young  folks  always 
stop  to  have  a  talk,  or  a  frolic,  after  meeting  is  out." 

"What  kind  of  a  frolic?" 


262  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

"Why,  they  sometimes  dance,  and  sing,  and  do  any 
thing  they  please." 

"  I  want  to  know,  Mr.  D.,"  said  I,  "  if  you  have  danc 
ing  in  your  church  on  the  Sabbath  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  he  answered,  sadly,  "  and  we  always  shall 
have,  as  long  as  church  members  drink  whisky." 

"Do  you  know  of  any  other  church,  Mr.  D.,  where 
they  have  such  amusements  on  the  Sabbath  ?  " 

"I  know  of  none  where  they  do  not,"  he  answered. 

"Do  you  know  this  because  you  have  seen  it?  Or 
have  you  only  heard  it  was  so  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  he,  "I  will  tell  you  what  I  lately  saw 
myself.  I  was  down  to  the  county  seat  at  the  last  court. 
We  had  a  murder  case  there  from  this  neighborhood, 
and  nearly  all  the  people  went  down,  some  on  foot, 
some  on  horseback.  We  started  to  come  home  Satur 
day  evening,  and  just  as  we  came  to  the  Methodist 
church,  about  dark,  a  terrible  thunder  shower  came  down 
upon  us.  One  of  them,  a  lawyer,  said  we  had  better  go 
into  the  meeting-house,  and  stay  all  night,  as  there  was 
no  other  house  near  the  church.  Soon  after  we  entered 
the  church,  they  sent  a  nigger  off  after  a  fiddler,  and 
some  whisky.  When  the  fiddler  and  the  whisky  came, 
I  told  the  lawyer  —  the  only  man  who  had  a  watch  —  that 
I  would  thank  him  to  let  me  know  when  midnight  had 
come.  He  did  so ;  and  I  went  out  into  the  woods  and 
lay  there  until  daylight.  I  had  little  sleep,  for  the  noise 
and  dancing  in  the  church  kept  me  awake ;  but  I  would 
not  stay  in  the  House  of  God,  when  there  was  drinking 
and  dancing  there  on  the  Sabbath  day." 


SLAVERY  AND  THE  SABBATH         263 

After  I  had  secured  the  confidence  of  Mr.  D.7  as  he 
certainly  had  secured  mine,  I  informed  him  that  I  was 
as  much  opposed  to  slavery  as  he  possibly  could  be  to 
intemperance ;  that  it  was  no  part  of  my  mission  in 
that  place  to  talk,  as  I  had  done,  on  the  subject  of  tem 
perance  ;  but  that  I  was  traveling  to  obtain  facts  in  rela 
tion  to  the  treatment  of  slaves,  and  the  effects  of  slavery 
on  the  masters  and  their  families,  and  upon  the  interests 
and  institutions  of  the  South. 

"What  good  do  you  think  that  will  do  you  ? "  he 
asked. 

u  It  will  enable  me  to  inform  the  people  of  the  North 
what  slavery  is,"  I  replied;  "for  we  wish  to  have  it 
abolished." 

"What  for?"  he  inquired,  with  a  look  and  tone  indi> 
eating  great  surprise,  as  if  he  knew  not  what  it  meant. 

"  Can  you  read,  Mr.  D.  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"No,  sir." 

"Can  Mrs.  D.  read?" 

"  She  cannot.  None  of  my  family  can  read,  except 
Henry." 

These  inquiries  may  seem  abrupt  and  impertinent  to 
Northern  minds ;  but  such  questions  are  often  asked  in 
the  South.  And  it  is  truly  astonishing  that  such  men  as 
Mr.  D.,  who  had  the  means  to  educate  himself  and  family, 
should  neglect  it. 

"  Don't  your  ministers  say  anything  about  slavery,  in 
the  pulpit,  Mr.  D.  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Not  very  often,"  he  replied.  "  I  never  heard  any  of 
them  say  anything  against  it." 


c< 

'C^CA^<>,^.- 


264  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY 

<•'  Have  you  never  heard  a  minister  say  it  was  wrong  ?  " 

<•  I  have  heard  them  say  it  was  wicked  to  abuse  the 
slaves,  —  but  nothing  more." 

"  Have  you  never  heard  a  minister  say  that  the  slaves 
ought  to  have  their  liberty  ?  " 

"  I  never  have,  sir !  Why  should  the  ministers  say 
the  niggers  ought  to  be  free,  when  most  of  them  own 
some  themselves  ?  " 

"  You  own  one  slave,  do  you  not,  Mr.  D.  ?  " 

"  Yes  !  I  have  one  here  —  Nelly  —  that  you  have  seen 
come  in  from  the  kitchen." 

"May  I  ask  you,  then,"  said  I,  "if  you  have  ever 
thought  whether  it  was  wrong  for  you  to  hold  that  girl 
as  a  slave  ?  " 

"  No  !  If  I  thought  it  was  wrong,  I  would  give  her 
her  liberty  at  once." 

"  Why  did  not  Nelly  go  to  meeting?  And  why  don't 
she  come  in  to  prayers  ?  I  notice  all  your  children  do," 
I  remarked. 

"  We  don't  think  it  of  much  consequence  for  niggers 
to  go  to  meeting,"  he  replied. 

«  Why  not  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Why  not  ?  Because  the  ministers  say  there  is  some 
doubt  about  niggers  having  souls  ! " 

"  No  souls  f  "  I  exclaimed.  "  Why !  What  kind  of  be 
ings  do  you  think  they  are,  Mr.  D.  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  have  heard  folks  say  they  are  a  kind  of  crea 
ture  between  men  and  monkies,  connecting  men  with 
other  animals." 

Nelly,  I  have  said,  was  a  quadroon,  —  a  bright,  sensi- 


SLAVERY  AKD  THE  SABBATH. 


265 


bio  girl  of  seventeen.  She  possessed  more  knowledge, 
and  had,  apparently,  more  good  common  sense  than  the 
whole  family  of  her  new  master. 

«  AVhcrc  did  you  get  that  slave,  Mr.  D.  ?  " 

'•  I  bought  lier  out  of  a  drove." 

<•'  How  long  have  you  owned  her  ?  " 

*'•'  Four  years." 

"  Where  was  she  raised  ?  " 

"  ^he  came  from  Virginia,  I  believe/'  he  replied. 

"  Do  you  know  who  was  her  former  owner  ?  " 

"  I  do  not,  exactly ;  but  I  heard  her  say,  when  I  first 
bought  her,  that  her  mother  told  her  he  was  a  minister." 

"  Was  she  living  with  her  mother  ?  " 

'•  Yes,  I  believe  she  was." 

"  Do  you  know  whether  she  had  a  father,  or  any  broth 
ers  and  sisters,  living  at  that  time  ?  " 

'•No,  sir,"  he  replied;  "we  never  ask  these  niggers 
anything  about  their  folks." 

1  had  previously  learned  that  purchasers  of  slaves  sel 
dom,  if  ever,  inquire  of  them  whether  they  have  left 
friends  behind  them.  It  would  keep  alive  sympathies  in 
the  heart  of  the  slave  that  the  masters  wish  to  smother, 

Hence  I  asked  the  question.  And  it  did  not  surprise 
me  that  neither  Mr.  D.,  nor  his  wife,  nor  either  of  his 
daughters  had  ever  inquired  of  Nelly,  during  the  four 
years  she  had  resided  in  the  family,  whether  she  had  any 
relatives  living. 

"  Are  you  willing,  Mr.  D.,"  said  I,  •'  to  have  Nelly  called 
in,  and  let  me  inquire  of  her  about  her  friends  in  Vir 
ginia?" 

23 


266  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

He  did  not  wait  to  answer  me,  but  stepped  to  the 
door  and  called  the  girl,  who  was  at  work  in  the  kitchen, 
about  forty  yards  from  the  house.  Nelly  ran  through 
the  yard,  and  entering  the  house,  inquired  what  her  mas 
ter  wanted. 

"  Here  is  a  friend  of  mine  from  the  North,  Nelly/' 
said  Mr.  D.,  "  who  wants  to  talk  with  you  about  your 
folks  up  in  Virginia." 

I  can  assure  the  reader  that  Nelly  appeared  entirely 
free  from  embarrassment  in  the  presence  of  her  master. 
She  knew  him  to  be  an  upright,  truthful  man,  —  that 
what  he  promised  he  would  perform,  —  and  she  believed 
and  trusted  him. 

"  Will  you  tell  me,  Nelly,"  said  I,  "  where  you  were 
raised  ?  " 

She  darted  towards  Mr.  D.,  and  whispered  anxiously, 
"Does  the  gentleman  wish  to  buy  me,  master  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  Nelly,"  replied  the  master,  "  I  will  not  sell 
you  to  anybody  as  long  asJE  live." 

"  No,  no,  Nelly ! "  said  I.  "  You  need  not  be  afraid 
of  that ;  for  I  wouldn't  take  you  as  a  gift,  unless  your 
master  wanted  to  send  you  to  the  North,  where  you 
could  be  free." 

"  Well,  I  don't  want  to  go  anywhere  to  be  free ! " 

"  So  I  suppose,  Nelly.  But  we  have  no  slaves  where 
I  live.  I  don't  want  to  buy  you,  nor  take  you  away.  I 
am  your  friend,  and  only  asked  your  master  to  call  you 
in,  that  I  might  ask  you  about  the  slaves  where  you  was 
raised.  " 

"  Very  well^  master,"  she  replied. 


SLAVERY   AND    THE   SABBATH.  267 

"Where  was  you  raised,  Nelly  ?  " 

"  I  was  born  in  Richmond ;  but  our  family  moved  out 
into  a  place  in  the  country,  on  James  river." 

"  Was  your  master  a  minister  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?    Did  you  go  to  meeting  ?  " 

"  No,  sir  !  But  my  mother  told  me  he  was  a  minis 
ter  ;  and  besides,  I  used  to  put  his  books  in  place,  and 
clean  up  his  room  when  he  was  gone  to  church." 

"  Then  you  had  a  mother  living  ?  " 

"  Oh.  yes,  sir !  My  mother  was  living  when  I  was 
sold." 

"And  was  your  father  living,  Nelly?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  !  My  father  was  alive  too,  and  I  had  one 
little  brother,  and " 

Here  she  paused,  as  if  struck  with  the  thought  that 
she  was  exceeding  the  bounds  of  her  liberty,  by  speak 
ing  of  a  brother  or  sisters  before  she  was  inquired  of 
respecting  them. 

"  One  brother,  you  say,  Nelly ;  and  how  many  sis 
ters  ?  " 

"  I  had  five  sisters,  master ;  and  one  little  brother, 
just  beginning  to  run  about  the  kitchen,  and  to  speak 
little  words." 

11  Were  any  of  them  sold  before  you,  Nelly  ?  " 

"No,  sir  !     I  was  the  first  one  that  had  to  be  sold." 

"How  came  you  to  be  sold  ?  " 

"Well, — just  before  I  was  sold,  my  mistress  died, 
and  master  had  his  rooms  dressed  in  mourning.  He 
had  crape  hung  all  around  in  the  parlor,  and  the  sitting- 


268  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

room,  and  even  in  his  study ;  and  when  the  merchant 
sent  in  the  bill  for  the  crape,  my  mother  told  me  " 

Here  the  words  choked  her  utterance.  The  word 
mother  revived  in  her  memory  the  old  home  affec 
tions,  the  family  sympathies,  the  instinctive  attach 
ments,  —  strongest  in  the  African  race,  —  and  they  all 
came  thronging  back  upon  her  mind,  and  she  could  not 
speak. 

"  Why  don't  you  tell  him,  and  be  done  with  it  ?  "  said 
her  master,  not  seeming  to  comprehend  the  load  of  an 
guish  that  was  crushing  her  heart.  After  waiting  until 
a  flood  of  tears  had  brought  a  little  relief,  she  contin 
ued — 

"  My  mother  told  me  —  that — the  merchant's  bill  —  for 
the  crape  —  was  several  hundred  dollars,  —  and  —  that 
I  —  was  sold  to  pay  it !  " 

And  she  sank  down  on  the  floor,  as  exhausted,  and 
helpless  as  though  she  had  been  stricken  down  with 
paralysis !  Her  master  went  to  the  back  part  of  the 
room,  sat  down,  and  wept  like  a  child !  ! 


XXL 

SLAVERY  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 


"  The  theme  divine  at  cards  she  '11  not  forget, 
But  takes  in  texts  of  scripture  at  piquet ; 
In  those  licentious  meetings  acts  the  prude, 
And  thanks  her  Maker  that  her  cards  are  good." 

YOUNG. 

THE  typo  of  morality,  in  any  country,  is  seldom  much 
higher  in  the  church  than  it  is  in  respectable  society  out 
of  it.  It  is  not  within  the  range  of  my  design  to  explain 
this,  —  though;  to  my  mind,  it  shows  the  great  influence 
and  the  corresponding  responsibility  of  the  churches. 
In  no  civilized  countries  do  men  of  good  standing  in 
society  justify  themselves  in  any  practices  which  are  not 
countenanced  by  professors  of  Christianity.  This  was 
true  in  the  most  corrupt  days  of  the  Romish  Church. 
It  is  no  less  true  now.  It  was,  therefore,  no  mere  rhe 
torical  flourish,  but  the  utterance  of  a  great  truth,  founded 
in  the  nature  of  man,  and  based  on  the  power  of  the 
Christian  faith,  when  Rev.  Albert  Barnes  declared  that 
slavery  could  not  live  an  hour  out  of  the  church,  if  it 
were  not  sustained  within  it. 


270  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

With  this  principle  in  view,  we  may  know,  without 
visiting  the  South,  how  the  Christian  churches  have  been 
corrupted.  We  need  not  expect  to  find  a  higher  stand 
ard  of  morality  within,  than  without.  If  men  of  high 
social  position  out  of  the  church  own  slaves,  so  will 
church  members.  And  so  is  the  fact.  There  are  more 
than  six  hundred  thousand  slaves  held  in  bondage  in  the 
South  by  men  professing  to  be  Christians.  Is  it  a  com 
mon  practice  in  the  South,  among  respectable  men,  to 
visit  theaters  and  horse-races  on  the  Sabbath,  —  to 
drink  intoxicating  liquors  to  excess,  —  to  play  cards, 
and  gamble,  —  to  make  the  Sabbath  a  day  of  sport  and 
pleasure  seeking?  These  practices  obtain  as  well  in 
the  churches,  as  out  of  them.  And  just  as  a  slaveh older 
who  is  known  to  own,  and  buy,  and  sell  his  own  children 
as  slaves,  suffers  nothing  at  all  in  his  reputation  on  that 
account, — so,  if  such  a  slaveholder  belongs  to  the  church, 
these  facts  do  not  affect  his  standing  there.  The  thing 
is  so  common  throughout  the  South,  —  among  men  call 
ing  themselves  Christians;  as  well  as  others,  —  as  hardly 
to  attract  attention. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  alarming  extent  to 
which  intemperance  prevails  in  the  South.  There  arc 
some  noble  men  there,  who  see  this  evil,  and  arc  using 
all  the  influence  in  their  power  to  provide  a  proper 
remedy.  But  not  in  our  clay  can  we  hope  for  the  Maine 
Law  to  triumph  in  the  slave  States. 

Some  of  the  clergymen  in  Georgia  are  true  temper 
ance  men,  and  they  arc  persecuted  as  bitterly  as  were 
the  early  anti-slavery  ministers  in  New  England.  Hence 


SLAVERY   AND    CHRISTIANITY,  271 

they,  seldom  speak  of  the  subject  except  at  temper 
ance  meetings,  and  there  cautiously  and  timidly.  The 
churches  will  not  tolerate  it  in  the  pulpit. 

1  was  pleased  to  hear  Mr.  K.,  one  of  the  speakers  in 
a  temperance  meeting  at  Savannah,  —  a  gentleman  who 
was  afterwards  President  of  the  Georgia  State  Tem 
perance  Convention,  —  speak  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  in  a  manner  that  showed  his  manly  inde 
pendence.  Slaveholders  are  not  afraid  to  speak  !  There 
are  no  cringing  doughfaces  in  the  South.  And  no  men 
more  heartily  despise  such  creatures  than  do  the  slave 
holders,  —  even  when  using  them  for  their  purposes. 

«Wc  are  told,"  said  Mr.  K.,  "that  the  Constitution 
of  these  States  so  guarantees  and  guards  the  commerce 
of  the  country  that  it  legalizes  the  trade  in  spirits ;  and 
that  a  law  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks 
would  be  unconstitutional.  If  such  be  the  fact,  let  the 
people  get  together  again  and  amend  it.  Or  if  we  find 
it  cannot  be  amended  so  as  to  stop  rumselling,  let  us 
tear  it  in  pieces,  and  make  a  new  and  better  one  !  " 

In  the  city  of  Savannah  the  slaves  are  allowed  a  free 
indulgence  in  the  use  of  wine  at  the  communion  table,  as 
an  inducement,  probably,  for  them  to  enter  the  church, 
and  to  make  them  better  contented  with  their  condition 
as  slaves.  A  gentleman  of  the  first  respectability,  re 
siding  in  that  city,  informed  me  that  he  saw  a  ten  gallon 
demijohn  filled  with  wine  in  a  store  on  Sabbath  morning, 
and  he  followed  the  man  who  took  it  to  the  colored 
church,  where  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  colored  churches 
for  the  communion.  And  he  said  that  they  drank  nearlv 
the  whole  of  it. 


272  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

"Did  they  drink  more/' I  asked/- than  is  generally 
used  for  that  purpose  by  other  churches  ?  " 

"0  yes/'  he  replied.  "I  never  saw  such  drinking 
wine  in  my  life  ! " 

The  number  that  partook  at  that  time  was  estimated 
to  be  about  eighty,  which  would  afford  them  about  a 
pint  each. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  this  is  the  church  where 
the  author  of  the  "  South  Side  View  of  Slavery "  saw 
such  remarkable  evidences  of  piety  while  he  was  wor 
shipping  there.  And  the  old  slave  preacher,  the  pastor 
of  that  church,  to  whom  Dr.  Adains  alludes,  is  notori 
ously  dishonest,  as  I  was  informed  by  a  merchant  of  that 
city.  But  he  succeeded  so  well  in  preaching,  that  a  few 
prayerlcss  slaveholders  aided  him  to  purchase  some 
slaves  —  three  in  number,  I  believe  —  so  that  he  might 
be  able  to  give,  in  his  own  person,  an  example  of  a 
slaveholding  minister  of  the  gospel  preaching  that  gos 
pel  to  his  own  race  ! 

The  subject  of  intemperance  in  the  colored  churches 
was  a  topic  of  conversation  in  a  store  at  Darien ;  and  I 
stated  some  facts  which  had  come  to  niy  knowledge, 
showing  the  intemperate  habits  of  members  in  those 
churches  in  the  cities.  And  I  freely  expressed  my  opin 
ion,  that  slaveholders  encouraged  their  slaves  to  unite 
with  the  churches  mainly  to  enhance  their  market  value. 
A  clergyman  present,  who  participated  in  the  discussion, 
attempted  to  defend  these  churches. 

"  You  must  have  been  misinformed,"  said  he  ,*  "  for  I 
know  the  slaves  to  be  asp'ood  Christians  as  the  masters 
who  are  members  of  churches." 


SLAVERY    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  273 

"I  have  no  desire  to  draw  a  comparison  between  the 
slaves  and  their  masters,"  I  replied;  "but  I  believe,  of 
course,  what  I  have  seen  myself." 

There  was  in  that  store  a  gentleman  formerly  from 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  where,  for  several  years,  he  attended 
the  ministry  of  Rev.  H.  W.  Beeclier.  He  was  a  firm 
friend  of  free  principles,  and  he  exhibited  an  indepen 
dence  of  thought  and  speech  in  maintaining  them.  He 
was  at  that  time  connected  with  a  business  firm  in  that 
city. 

"You  arc  correctly  informed,  sir,"  said  he,  addressing 
himself  to  me.  "  This  business  of  getting  slaves  into 
the  church  is  all  a  humbug.  And  now  I  will  tell  you 
what  took  place  here  last  autumn. 

"  The  overseer  from  Butler's  Island,"  —  on  which  there 
are  several  hundred  slaves,  on  a  beautiful  rice  plantation, 
out  in  the  arms  of  the  Altamaha,  all  in  sight,  and  within 
fifty  rods  of  the  store  in  which  we  stood,  —  "came  over 
here  one  Saturday  night,  and  inquired  of  a  minister  if 
he  would  baptize  some  slaves  belonging  to  that  island 
the  next  clay.  The  clergyman  replied  that  he  would,  if 
they  seemed  to  be  worthy  subjects  of  baptism.  Sabbath 
afternoon,  a  large  number  of  the  slaves  came  clown  to 
the  bank  of  the  river.  The  preacher  asked  those  who 
were  proposed  for  baptism  a  few  questions,  such  as, 
whether  they  believed  in  a  God  ?  a  state  of  future  hap. 
pincss  and  misery  ?  the  necessity  of  repentance  and 
faith?  to  every  one  of  which  they  all  answered,  ' yes, 
master,'  <  yes,  master.'  Not  a  question  was  put  to  them 
that  required  a  negative  answer.  The  ordinance  had 


274  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

been  administered  to  about  forty,  when  the  minister  said 
the  waters  were  so  cold,  and  he  was  so  tired,  that  they 
would  adjourn  to  the  next  day.  Monday  afternoon  the 
exercises  were  resumed,  and  the  solemn  ceremonies 
went  on  until  some  seventy-five  were  baptized. 

"  Now  I  have  never  heard  that  a  gospel  sermon  was 
ever  preached  on  Butler's  Island.  I  have  been  all  over 
it,  and  I  never  saw  a  Bible  there.  Those  slaves  had, 
evidently,  no  more  idea  of  the  solemn  obligations  they 
were  taking  upon  them  in  making  a  religious  profession 
than  the  brutes.  And  as  proof  of  this,  after  the  solemn 
farce  was  ended  some  of  those  slaves  who  had  been 
baptized  came  over  here  and  staid  a  long  time  that  after 
noon,  drinking  whisky  to  intoxication.  One  of  them 
absolutely  stole  a  bundle  of  wet  clothes  that  a  brother 
had  just  been  baptized  in.  I  saw  him,  detected  him, 
challenged  him  with  it,  and  he  confessed  it !  And  yet  I 
think  an  account  of  this  baptism  was  published  in  some 
Northern  papers  as  a  great  revival  of  religion  on  But 
ler  s  Island!  " 

The  colored  churches  in  the  South,  of  course,  have  no 
pastors,  in  any  proper  sense  of  that  term.  Sometimes 
the  pastor  of  the  church,  to  which  their  masters  belong 
condescends  to  address  them.  But  their  meetings,  if 
they  have  any  speaker  at  all,  are  usually  addressed  by 
colored  preachers.  The  tenor  of  their  sermons  has 
been  so  often  described,  that  I  will  not  repeat  any  of 
them.  If  these  preachers  are  honest,  they  counsel  obe 
dience  and  submission,  because  otherwise  they  would 
not  be  permitted  to  speak.  If  they  arc  dishonest;  as 


SLAVERY   AND    CHRISTIANITY.  275 

some  of  them  arc,  they  preach  to  please  the  masters, 
just  as  time-serving  ministers  do  in  the  North. 

Dr,  Nelson  —  author  of  the  able  work  on  infidelity 
published  by  the  American  Tract  Society  —  after  a  resi 
dence  of  more  than  fort}^  years  in  Xorth  Carolina,  and 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  slavery,  says, 

"  I  say  what  I  know  when  I  speak  in  relation  to  this 
matter.  I  have  been  intimately  acquainted  with  the  re 
ligious  opportunities  of  the  slaves,  —  in  the  constant 
habit  of  hearing  the  sermons  which  are  preached  to  j 
them.  And  I  solemnly  affirm  that,  daring  the  forty 
years  of  my  residence  and  observation  in  this  line,  I  | 
never  heard  a  single  one  of  these  sermons  but  what  was 
taken  up  with  the  obligations  and  duties  of  slaves  to 
their  masters.  /  Indeed,  I  never  heard  a  sermon  to  slaves 
but  what  made  obedience  to  masters  by  the  slaves  the 
fundam^ntal_ arid"  supreme  law  of  religion.  Any  candid 
and  intelligent  man  can  decide  whether  such  preaching 
is  not,  as  to  religious  purposes,  worse  than  none  at  all." 

It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the  slaves  are  de 
graded.  The  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
only  declared  what  was  the  natural,  inevitable  result  of 
the  slave  system,  when  they  said  that  the  slaves  were 
"in  the  condition  of  heathen, —  and  in  some  respects,  a 
worse  condition.  Their  moral  and  religious  condition 
is  such,  that  they  may  justly  be  considered  the  heathen 
of  this  Christian  country !  " 

And  yet  I  should  be  doing  the  slaves  injustice  to  deny 
that  there  are  many  sincere  Christians  among  them. 
Yrith  all  their  darkness  and  ignorance,  there  are  doubt- 


276  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

less  many  devout  worshipers,  living  up  to  the  dim 
light  they  have.  1  became  acquainted  with  many  such, 
who,  like  "  Uncle  Tom,"  and  "  Aunt  Chloc,"  while  they 
suffer  all  things  for  Christ's  sake  here,  and  seem  to  us 
so  benighted,  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  looketb  on  the 
heart,  arc,  it  may  be,  far  in  advance  of  many  Christians 
who  now  assume  to  look  down  on  them  with  as  much 
of  contempt  as  of  pity.  Many  of  us,  perhaps,  who  think 
we  arc  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  shall  be  first. 

I  have  just  read,  with  much  interest,  a  letter  from  a 
lady  who  is  spending  the  present  summer  (1855)  in  the 
South,  published  in  the  Hartford  Republican. 

"  I  have  just  been  to  visit  a  plantation, l  Bottcn  Garden' 
is  the  name  of  it.  The  owner  is  a  very  rich  man  and 
resides  in  the  town.  His  plantation  consists  of  sixteen 
hundred  acres  of  black  prairie  land.  Six  hundred  acres 
were  in  cotton  in  one  field,  and  three  hundred  in  corn. 
The  fields  look  beautifully  at  this  season  of  the  year. 
Not  a  weed  is  to  be  seen,  and  the  rows  arc  very  straight 
and  extend  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  Mr.  R.  let  the 
slaves  leave  their  work  for  the  remainder  of  the  clay, 
that  we  might  sec  them  together.  I  should  think  there 
were  fifty  children  too  young  to  work  at  ail,  playing,  in 
the  yard.  I  called  them  all  together  and  they  sung  for 
me  ;  —  all  sing.  They  took  hold  of  hands,  forming  a 
circle,  and  went  round  a  tree,  singing,  l  I'm  gwine  away 
up  yonder,'  i  See  God,  feedin  on  de  lambs  ! '  and  t  When 
I  get  ober  Jordan,  I'll  be  a  hero  den.' 

"  I  asked  the  women  to  sing.  There  has  been  a  great 
revival  on  the  plantation,  and  all  are  very  pious.  They 


SLAVERY   AND    CHRISTIANITY.  277 

sing  nothing  but  hymns.  They  sung  a  very  ! or.fr  hymn. 
This  was  the  chorus :  '  Oh  sister,  watch  dat  heart,  dat 
'ceitml,  'ccitful  heart,  for  I'm  gwinc  home.'  1  could 
hardly  keep  back  the  tears,  they  seemed  so  solemn,  and 
looked  up  so  earnestly  in  my  face.  I  went  round  to 
their  houses  alone  and  made  calls.  They  all  talked 
constantly  upon  religion,  and  I  could  not  get  in  a  word. 
Indeed  I  had  rather  listen,  for  I  knew  that  the  Spirit 
takes  of  the  things  of  Jesus,  and  shows  it  unto  them, 
and  the  way  of  salvation  is  made  clear  to  them  in  this 
way,  though  they  arc  denied  the  privilege  of  reading 
God's  blessed  word. 

"I  know  but  little  of  the  horrors  of  slavery.  I  see 
but  thv  best  side,  and  that  is  none  too  good.  Some 
slave--  arc  jusfc  as  white  as  I  am.  The  other  day. I  met 
a  litt]o  jlii TO  girl.  She  certainly  was  the  most  beautiful 
child  I  c"cr  tjav.  She  was  waalng  irv  a  muddy  creek 
and  as  I  passed  by,  she  looked  up  through  her  beautiful 
brown  curls  and  said,  '  I  love  the  beautiful  fishes.'  I 
want  to  buy  her,  and  make  her  a  free  and  noble  woman. 
I  told  a  gentleman  so.  lie  said  she  could  not  be  bought. 
It  seems  dreadful  that  one  so  beautiful  should  be  so  de 
graded.  And  what  a  life  is  before  her  !  Her  beauty 
will  only  make  her  more  miserable.  I  cannot  bear  to 
think  of  it." 

Slavery  is  inherently  in  direct  antagonism  to  Chris 
tianity^-—  not  only  in  matters  of  practice,  but  of  doc 
trine.  In^ts_v^rj_nuture_it  denies  the  authority  of  God 
to  command  the  obed^nc£jxnd_t^  crea 

tures.     The  ..  slayo_.miistj ,  at  his  perilLobey  his  master 
24 


278  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

in  all  things.  Deny  the  master  this  claim,  and  you 
strike]^^e]ve^^m3ation  of  the  system.  The  slave 
has  no  power  to  protect  or  provide  for  his  family.  If 
his  wife  is  sold  away,  he  must  cohabit  with  a  stranger, 
to  raise  up  children  for  the  market.*  God  requires  him 
to  remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.  But  the 
master  claims  the  right,  and  often  exercises  it,  to  abro 
gate  God's  law,  and  compel  him  to  labor  on  the  Sabbath. 
Slavery,  therefore,  not  only  denies  the  inalienable  rights 
of  man,  —  but  it  usurps  the  place  of  the  Creator,  and 
denies  to  the  Almighty  the  right  to  rule  over  his  crea 
tures  !  And  yet,  religious  bodies  that  have  always  had 
as  keen  a  scent  for  heresy  as  the  bloodhound  has  for 
his  victim,  have  not  yet  found  out  whether  it  is  heretical 
to  deny  the  supremacy  of  God,  and  the  manhood  of 
those  whom  He  has  created  in  his  own  image  1 

"A  few  days  since,"  says  a  late  writer  in  the  Boston 
Congregationalist,  u  a  most  affecting  fact  was  stated  to 


*  The  Savannah  River  Baptist  Association,  in  reply  to  the  question, 
"  Whether,  in  a  case  of  involuntary  separation,  of  such  a  character  as 
to  preclude  all  prospect  of  future  intercourse,  the  parties  ought  to  be 
allowed  to  marry  again  ?  "  returned  the  following  answer :  "  That  such 
separation  among  persons  situated  as  our  slaves  are,  is  civilly  a  separa 
tion  by  death,  and  they  believe  that,  in  the  sight  of  God,  it  would  be  so 
viewed.  To  forbid  second  marriages  in  such  cases,  would  be  to  expose 
the  parties,  not  only  to  stronger  hardships  and  strong  temptation,  but 
to  church  censure,  for  acting  in  obedience  to  their  masters,  who  cannot 
be  expected  to  acquiesce  in  a  regulation  at  variance  with  justice  to 
the  slaves,  and  to  the  spirit  of  that  command  which  regulates  marriage 
among  Christians.  The  slaves  are  not  free  agents,  and  a  dissolution  by 
death  is  not  more  entirely  without  their  consent,  and  beyond  their  con 
trol,  than  by  such  separation. " 


SLAVERY    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  279 

us  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Alvord.  During  a  residence  of  sev 
eral  months  in  Florida,  for  his  health,  he  was  often  wont 
to  take  exercise  by  working  with  the  slaves  on  the 
plantation  where  he  was ;  and  having  gained  their  con 
fidence  thus,  they  freely  opened  their  hearts  to  him  as 
a  friend,  —  a  thing  which  slaves  do  not  do  to  every  man, 
and  especially  to  chance  visitors,  whom  they  judge  to  be 
in  the  interest  of  their  masters, 

"  In  one  case  he  called  to  see  a  slave  who  was  in  con- 
fmemcnt  for  endeavoring  to  follow  his  conscience,  in 
keeping  holy  the  Sabbath  day  in  the  worship  of  God. 
]>y  working  nights,  he  actually  performed  the  labor  as 
signed  for  seven  days,  and  then  spent  the  Sabbath  in 
worship.  His  master  discovered  it,  and  imprisoned 
him,  and  cut  and  mangled  his  body  with  scourges,  to 
subdue  his  will,  and  compel  him  to  work  on  the  Sabbath. 
After  the  wounds  began  to  heal,  he  cut  them  open  from 
time  to  time  by  repeated  scourgings,  Mr.  Alvord  saw 
his  wounds,  and  gazed  with  painful  sympathy  upon  his 
honest  face,  wet  with  tears,  as  he  told  the  severity 
of  his  trial.  At  last,  after  repeated  scourgings,  his 
spirit  failed,  and  he  submitted  to  his  master's  impious 
will." 

Church  discipline  is  almost  unknown  in  the  Southern 
churches,  especially  for  anything  relating  to  slaves.  No 
matter  how  cruelly  a  master  treats  his  servants,  or  how 
severely  he  punishes  them  —  even  unto  death;  if  he 
does  not  violate  the  law  —  which  it  is  hardly  possible 
for  him  to  do  —  the  church  will  not  censure  him.  I 


280  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

could  relate  many  facts  illustrating  this  subject,  but  one 
or  two  incidents  will  be  sufficient. 

The  following  story  was  related  to  me  by  Mr.  D.,thc 
owner  of  Nelly,  of  whom  I  have  given  some  account  in 
the  preceding  chapter. 

Mr.  D.  had  a  neighbor,  —  a  member  of  the  same 
church,  —  by  the  name  of  M.  lie  was  a  wealthy,  though 
an  ignorant  man,  owning  many  slaves;  and  besides  a 
plantation,  with  cattle,  and  mules,  and  sheep,  lie  owned 
mills  in  that  neighborhood.  Among  his  slaves  there 
was  a  house  servant  by  the  name  of  Nancy.  One  even 
ing  her  master  told  her  to  go  up  to  Mr.  D.'s  on  some 
errand.  It  was  a  bright  moonlight  evening,  but  Nancy 
was  afraid  to  go.  Mr.  D.'s  son,  Henry,  had  been  bitten 
by  a  rattlesnake,  though  the  wound  was  not  fatal.  He 
had  not  fully  recovered  when  I  was  there.  These  snakes 
arc  supposed  to  be  out  in  the  moonlight  evenings,  and 
as  they  cannot  be  seen  so  distinctly  as  in  the  day  time, 
they  are  the  more  dreaded.  Under  these  circumstances, 
Nancy's  fears  were  not  strange.  She  therefore  told  her 
master  that  she  was  afraid  to  go.  But  lie  was  enraged 
at  her  unwillingness  to  obey,  and  lie  commanded  her  to 
start  at  once.  She  still  refused  to  go  saying  that  tho 
snakes  would  kill  her,  and  that  she  would  rather  be 
whipped  to  death  than  go. 

Mr.  M.  then  commenced  whipping  her  and  he  applied 
the  lash  again  and  asrain,  until  lie  saw  that  it  was  in 
vain.  He  was  filled  with  rage,  and  taking  a  quart  dish, 
he  filled  it  full  of  filthy  liquid  from  the  barn  yard,  and 


SLAVERY  AND    CHRISTIANITY.  281 

put  it  to  her  lips ;  and  after  compelling  her  to  drink  a 
part  of  it7  he  asked  her  if  she  would  then  go. 

"  No,  master ;  I  will  die  lirst !  I  cannot  go.  I  know 
the  snakes  will  kill  me  if  I  go  ! " 

And  he  whipped  her  until  he  made  her  drink  it  all. 
The  next  morning  the  poor  girl  was  dead ! 

'•Did  you  see  the  body  after  IIQC  death,  Mr.  D.  ?''  I 
asked  him. 

'•Yes,  I  went  down  to  see  her,  and  I  never  saw  such 
a  sight ! " 

"  Was  Nancy  a  Christian,  Mr.  D.  ?  " 

"She  was  a  right  good  girl,"  he  replied,  with  a  deep 
sigh  j  and  he  added,  "She  was  a  member  of  our  church  /  ' 

"Did  your  church  discipline  your  brother  M,  for  kill 
ing  her  ?  " 

'•Discipline  /  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  inquired 
Mr.  D.,  not  knowing  the  meaning  of  the  word. 

'•'  Did  you  call  him  to  account  ?  " 

'•  Oh  no  !     How  could  we  ?     He  had  not  violated  the 

law" 

<._ 

I  became  acquainted  with  a  young  lady  from  Maine, 
who  had  been  teaching  school  in  the  South  a  few  years. 
She  belongs  to  a  family  of  the  highest  respectability  in 

the  city  of ,  and  at  the  time  of  her  first  going 

South,  none  of  the  family  had  any  sympathy  with  the 
anti-slavery  movement.  The  following  incident  was  re 
lated  to  me  by  her,  all  the  facts  being  within  her  own 
personal  knowledge. 

Mrs.  C.,  —  where  this  teacher  was  boarding,  —owned 
a  mulatto  girl  named  "  Chloe,"  who  was  expecting  soon 

Y^Yw,,   _s      kv^.-—^  Y/\< 

'  V 

— 


282  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

to  be  married  to  a  slave  boy  named  "  Jok,''  who  lived 
about  five  miles  distant.  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  have  men 
tioned  before  this,  that  slaves,  no  matter  how  old,  are 
always  boys  and  girls.  They  never  become  men  or 
women. 

Jok  went  to  his  master  on  Saturday  night,  to  obtain 
a  pass  to  visit  Chloe.  His  master  was  intoxicated,  and 
therefore  he  could  not  write  a  pass.  No  other  person 
in  the  neighborhood  could  write ;  and  Jok's  mistress 
told  him  it  would  not  be  safe  for  him  to  go  without  a 
pass,  as  it  was  contrary  to  law.  Jok  waited  until 
morning.  Chloe  sat  up  all  night,  watching  for  him  with 
deep  anxiety,  lest  some  evil  had  befallen  him,  fearing 
that  he  had  been  whipped,  or  sold  away.  Slaves  are 
very  faithful  in  fulfilling  promises  to  visit  friends,  in  or 
der  to  remove  such  fears. 

In  the  morning  Jok's  mistress  told  him  that  his  mas 
ter  was  still  sick,  and  not  able  to  write  ;  but  that  he  had 
been  up  to  Mrs.  C.'s  so  many  times,  she  would  run  the 
risk  to  let  him  go  without  a  pass. 

"You  tell  Mrs.  C./'  said  she,  "that  your  master  is 
sick,  and  that  I  sent  you  up  there  without  a  pass  j  and 
she  will  excuse  it." 

When  Jok  came  up  to  the  gate,  the  overseer  went 
out,  as  his  custom  was,  and  demanded  his  pass.  The 
slave  informed  him  that  his  master  was  so  sick  he  could 
not  write  one,  that  he  waited  all  night  for  it,  and  his  mis 
tress  told  him  to  come  without  one. 

"  Go  home,  you  scoundrel !  "  said  the  overseer,  "  and 
get  your  pass  ! " 


SLAVERY   AND    CHRISTIANITY.  283 

Jok  started  back  towards  his  home.  Chloe,  who  had 
overheard  tho  conversation,  ran  into  the  room  of  her 
mistress,  and  informed  her  that  the  overseer  had  driven 
Jok  home  after  his  pass,  and  she  supposed,  as  it  was 
early  in  the  morning,  that  he  came  away  before  break 
fast.  Mrs.  C.  stepped  to  the  back  door  and  called 
Jim,— a  young  slave  boy  belonging  to  her,  —  and  told 
him  to  run  and  overtake  Jok  and  tell  him  to  come 
back  and  see  her  before  he  went  home  to  get  his  pass ; 
not  intending  to  countermand  the  order  of  the  overseer. 
Jim  ran  to  bring  back  Jok.  In  the  meantime,  the  over 
seer  went  out  to  the  stable.  Just  as  the  boys  returned 
to  the  gate,  he  came  in  from  the  stable,  and  demanded 
of  Jok  again  "why  he  was  there  without  a  pass?" 

'•'Mrs.  C.  sent  for  me  to  come  back,"  answered  Jok. 

"I  don't  care  if  she  did,"  said  the  overseer;  "you 
shan't  go  in." 

"  I  tell  you  I  must,"  urged  Jok. 

"Not  a  step!"  forbade  the  overseer. 

Xow  what  should  the  poor  boy  do  ?  Two  slavehold 
ers,  equal  in  authority,  commanding  him  to  go  in  oppo 
site  directions.  He  thought  he  would  press  his  way 
through  the  gate,  by  the  overseer,  and  run  to  the  door 
and  ascertain  what  Mrs,  C.  wanted,  and  then  go  home 
for  his  pass.  In  attempting  to  do  this,  the  overseer 
clinched  him;  but  Jok  proved  to  be  the  stronger  man, 
and  he  threw  him  down.  The  overseer  tried  to  choke 
hi  10  and  strike  him  in  the  face.  Mrs.  C.  ran  out,  and 
taking  hold  of  Jok's  arm,  she  exclaimed, 

"  Why,  Jok,  you  don't  know  what  you  are  doing  !  I 
am  afraid  they  will  kill  you !  Now  you  give  right  up, 


284  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

Jok,  and  take  a  little  whipping,  and  then  go  for  your 
pass!" 

Jok  arose  instantly,  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  C.  As 
soon  as  the  overseer  was  able  to  do  so,  he  sprang  up, 
rushed  into  the  house,  and  seized  a  gun  which  he  had 
loaded  with  shot  the  night  previous.  My  informant; 
who  was  present,  screamed  out,  "  h c  is  going  to  shoot 
Jok! "  Mrs.  C.  caught  hold  of  the  gun,  as  he  was  leav 
ing  the  house,  exclaiming, 

"You  shan't  killJok !" 

"Yes  I  will  shoot  the  nigger  ! " 

"Remember  my  comma]) d,  sir!  Don't  you  kill  that 
slave  !  You  may  whip  him." 

"May  I  whip  him,  madam,  as  much  as  I  please  ?1? 

"You  may  whip  him  severely,  but  spare  his  life,"  re 
plied  Mrs.  C.,  sternly. 

"Do  you  give  up,  Jok?  "  said  the  overseer. 

"Yes,  master,"  was  the  submissive  reply. 

His  coarse  frock,  which  was  all  his  clothing,  was  taken 
off;  his  thumbs  tied  together  witlra  line;  and  the  over 
seer,  with  a  heavy  green  hide  in  his  hand,  led  him  out 
to  the  gin-house  to  flog  him.  Chloe  went  out  around 
the  stable,  and  came  up  behind  the  gin-house,  where  she 
could  look  in  through  the  spaces  between  the  logs,  and 
see  the  punishment  inflicted.  The  overseer  was  angry 
with  the  slave,  and  he  whipped  him  with  terrible  sever 
ity,  until,  from  suffering  and  loss  of  blood,  he  fainted 
and  fell.  Chloe  ran  to  the  house,-  and  screamed, 

"  Mistress  !  I  wish  you  would  go  out,  for  I  believe  the 
overseer  has  killed  Jok  !  " 

Mrs.  C.  hastened  out,  and  finding  him  cut  up  shock, 


SLAVERY   AND    CHRISTIANITY.  285 

ingly,  she  told  the  overseer  to  desist.  She  callecl*sonic 
other  slaves  to  convey  Jok  into  the  house,  and  then  sent 
lor  a  physician. 

When  the  physician  came,  he  said  the  slave  could  not 
live.  Pie  remained  with  him  several  hours,  during  which 
time  he  was  constantly  spitting  blood,  and  uttering 
groans,  as  if  in  the  agonies  of  death.  Towards  evening, 
however,  his  sufferings  abated,  and  he  finally  recovered. 

That  mistress,  and  the  overseer,  and  that  slave  boy 
and  girl,  were  all  members  of  the  same  church.  And 
the  overseer  was  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  School 
connected  with  that  church. 

"  He  came  into  the  house,"  said  the  lady  who  related 
the  facts  to  me,  "after  whipping  Jok,  and  washed  his 
hands  with  as  much  composure  as  though  nothing  had 
occurred,  and  went  off  to  church  to  take  charge  of  the 
Sabbath  School  that  Sabbath  morning." 

"Did  the  church  discipline  him  for  that  act  ?  "  1  in 
quired. 

"This  question  was  asked  that  mistress,"  said  the 
teacher  to  me.  "  and  she  replied  that  the  church  could 
not  do  anything  with  the  overseer,  as  he  had  not  violated 
the  low:' 

"She  was  also  asked,  how  she  could  commune  with 
that  overseer  ?  " 

<IIow  can  I  refuse  to  do  it,"  she  replied,  "unless  the 
church  censure  him  ?  And  that  I  know  they  will  not 
do!'" 


XXII. 

WAYSIDE  NOTES. 


"  Rest,  darlings,  rest! 
Never  more  with  toil  opprest 
Shall  we  watch  the  western  light 
Slowly  wane  o'er  fields  of  white. — 
Daughter !  upon  limb  of  thine 
Gilded  chains  shall  never  shine. 
All  thy  mother's  wrong  and  woe, 
Dearest  ones  !  ye  ne'er  shall  know. 
To  my  heart,  exulting,  pressed, 

Rest,  darlings,  rest." 

My  note-book  still  contains  a  variety  of  incidents  that 
can  hardly  be  arranged  into  any  particular  class.  The 
most  of  them  I  shall  omit.  But  I  have  gathered  up  a 
few  of  them,  that  illustrate  different  phases  of  the  slave 
system,  and  have  thrown  them  together  in  this  chapter. 

THE    SLAVE   WIFE. 

In  the  city  of ,  there  was  a  lumber  merchant,  who 

had  several  partners  residing  in  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
L.  —  for  that  was  his  name  —  went  to  a  slave  broker  to 
hire  a  cook.  It  is  not  easy  in  the  South  to  hire  domes* 


WAYSIDE   NOTES.  287 

tic  help  without  hiring  slaves.  The  broker  informed 
Mr.  L.  that  he  had  no  slaves  to  let.  —  but  that  he  had  a 
fine  quadroon  girl  that  he  would  like  to  sell. 

"I  do  not  wish  to  buy,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  L.,  "for  my 
partners  in  Boston  would  not  consent  to  purchase 
slaves." 

"  Well,  I  want  you  to  look  at  her,"  said  he.  "  She  is 
a  good  girl,  and  will  keep  your  boys  straight  at  the  mill ; 
and  I  offer  her  so  low  that  you  had  better  buy  than 
hire." 

"  Oh,  I  can't  buy  a  slave ;  but  I  will  look  at  her,"  said 
Mr.  L.,  "if  you  desire  it." 

"  Nancy ! "  said  the  broker,  as  he  opened  the  door 
of  a  back  room,  into  which  no  ray  of  light  was  admitted 
when  the  door  was  closed. 

"  When  Nancy  stepped  into  the  room,"  said  Mr.  L.,  as 
he  related  the  story  to  me,  "  I  was  never  so  shocked  in 
my  life ;  for  I  never  saw  a  more  beautiful  female,  ap 
parently  perfectly  white,  elegant,  and,  as  I  afterwards 
learned,  highly  accomplished. 

"  I  wish  you  would  buy  me,  sir,"  she  exclaimed,  with 
deep  emotion; — for  she  saw  at  once  that  he  would 
be  a  kind  master.  No  one  can  read  the  countenance  at 
a  glance  better  than  slaves.  More  than  in  the  heavens, 
sunshine  and  storm  are  seen  approaching  in  the  glance 
of  the  master's  eye.  They  study  the  human  face  as  the 
sailors  do  the  sky.  No  Northern  man  has  failed  to  be 
surprised  to  see  how  his  wants  are  often  known  by  an 
intelligent  slave  before  he  has  time  to  express  them. 

But  Mr.  L.  had  no  idea  of  buying  a  slave,    He  hardly 


288  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

knew  why  lie  had  consented  lo  look  at  this  one.  And 
when,  in  her  beauty  as  well  as  sorrow,  she  stood  before 
him,  pleading  for  him  to  buy  her,  to  save  her  from  a 
worse  fate,  he  hardly  knew  what  to  do.  It  is  at  this 
point  that  many  a  generous  hearted  man  from  the  North 
has  yielded,  and  become  a  slaveholder.  But  men  who 
buy  their  first  slave  from  motives  of  benevolence,  per 
haps  with  the  intention  of  giving  the  boon  of  freedom 
at  some  future  time,  soon  become  familiarized  to  the 
system,  —  they  forget  the  purpose  to  give  their  slaves 
their  liberty,  and  finally  they  will  buy  and  sell  their  fel- 
lowmen  with  as  little  compunction  as  those  who  have 
been  educated  under  the  influences  of  slavery.  The 
only  safe  rule  for  any  Northern  man  who  may  become  a 
resident  in  the  slave  States  is,  never  to  buy  a  slave,  un 
der  any  circumstances,  unless  he  can  make  the  slave  free 
at  once.  So  thought  Mr,  L  7*  and  therefore,  as  much  as 
he  pitied  Nancy,  and  as  indignant  as  he  was  that  such  a 
woman,  in  this  Christian  land,  should  be  offered  for  sale, 
like  the  brutes,  —  he  turned  away:  sorrowful,  and  left 
her  to  her  fate. 

The  next  day,  — while  Mr  L  was  walking  over  one 
of  the  public  malls,  —  Nancy,  who  had  determined,  if 
possible,  to  have  an  interview  with  him,  and  had  obtained 
a  pass  for  that  purpose,  ran  up  to  him  quickly,  and  ex 
claimed  — 

"I  wish  you  would  buy  me,  kind  sir  !  " 

"  0  don't  say  anything  to  me  about  that,  here  I  "  said 
Mr.  L.,  thinking  it  was  not  safe  for  him  to  be  seen  talk 
ing  with  a  slave,  where  so  many  were  passing.  But  the 


WAYSIDE   NOTES.  289 

second  thought  was  that  she  was  so  white  no  one  would 
suspect  she  was  a  slave,  and  he  said  to  her  — 
'•  I  pity  you.  Nancy,  but  I  cannot  buy  you  !  " 
"  Will  you  stay,  then,  and  listen  to  me  ?  "  implored 
the  girl. 

"A  moment,"  replied  Mr.  L.  "But  say  on.  quickly." 
'•I  was  raised  over  here  in  South  Carolina,"  said 
Nancy,  point  ing  over  the  river.  "My  master  was  my 
father.  It  was  always  known  in  his  family,  and  I  lived 
as  one  of  its  members.  He  promised  me,  often,  that  he 
would  give  me  free  papers  before  he  died.  But  he  neg 
lected  to  do  it.  and  L-e  was  taken  away  suddenly.  Two 
of  his  sons  were  dissipated,  and  the  property  had  been 
so  much  diminished  that  they  refused  to  give  me  my 
freedom.  But  they  consented  to  let  me  have  six  years 
time,  and  if  I  could  pay  six  hundred  dollars  to  the 
administrator,  then  I  should  be  free.  I  worked  four 
years,  at  various  kinds  of  sewing,  and  during  that  time 
I  paid  four  hundred  dollars.  I  was  acquainted  with 
a  young  slaveholder  who  was  brought  up  in  the  same 
neighborhood  where  I  was,  in  whom  I  had  great  confi 
dence.  He  came  forward  and  proposed  to  pay  the  other 
two  hundred  dollars,  and  make  me  his  wife.  I  accepted 
the  offer.  He  went  to  the  administrator,  paid  over  the 
money,  and  took  a  deed  of  me  in  his  own  name.  I  did 
not  inquire  how  the  matter  was  adjusted,  as  I  had  no 
suspicion  that  any  future  trouble  would  arise  from  it. 

"After  we  had  lived  together  several  years,  and  I  bad 
become  the  mother  of  two  beautiful  daughters  —  now 
five  and  six  years  of  age  —  a  family  quaircl  arose  be- 
25 


290  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

tween  us,  for  which  no  virtuous  wife  and  mother  could 
blame  me;  and,  as  the  result,  my  cruel  husband  has 
sent  me  here  to  be  sold.  Oh  !  can  you  not  save  me  and 
my  little  children  from  such  a  fate  ?  " 

Mr.  L.  made  further  inquiries,  and  found  that  her 
story  was  true.  Her  happiness  was  but  a  dream,  and 
it  had  vanished.  Her  home  was  desolate.  Under  that 
inexorable  law  of  slavery — partus  sequitcr  ventrem — her 
darling  daughters,  like  herself;  were  liable  to  all  the 
terrible  contingencies  of  the  slave's  lot.  And  as  human 
affection,  and  plighted  faith,  had  failed  to  save  her,  so  it 
might  be  with  them.  For  them,  as  well  as  for  herself, 
was  she  in  agony  and  despair. 

I  will  not  prolong  the  story,  except  to  say  that  by  the 
noble  efforts  of  Mr.  L,  this  family  were  rescued  from  a 
fate  worse  than  death.  I  met  her  afterwards  in  the  cars, 
on  her  way  to  a  city  in  the  interior,  to  reside  in  the 
family  of  a  clergyman.  She  had  received  her  free  papers, 
and  the  cup  of  her  joy  was  full.  A  shade  of  sorrow 
would  occasionally  flit  across  her  countenance,  —  for  ties 
sacred  to  her  had  been  severed,  —  but  in  the  greatness 
of  her  deliverance  she  forgot  all  things  besides.  It  was 
meet  that  such  a  flood  of  joy  should  sweep  away,  for  a 
time,  at  least,  all  the  traces  of  her  sorrow.  How  many 
like  her  are  there  still  in  bondage,  upon  whose  cheer 
less,  weary  lives  no  ray  of  hope  has  ever  shone !  He, 
only,  who  knoweth  all  things,  can  tell ! 

READING   UNCLE   TOM'S    CABIN. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin 
read  to  a  company  in  one  of  the  planting  districts.  It 


WAYSIDE  NOTES.  291 

was  reported  in  the  place  that  a  man  was  coming  to 
fiinidh  reading  that  "wonderful  novel"  to  all  —  "ex 
cept  slaves" — who  would  assemble  at  K.  N.'s  long 
mule  stable  on  a  certain  night.  After  the  crowd  had 
gathered,  and  the  reading  had  commenced,  I  entered  the 
room  silently,  to  witness  the  scene.  The  reader  was 
seated  on  a  stack  of  corn  in  the  middle  of  the  long,  nar 
row  stable,  reading  by  a  small  oil  lamp.  There  was 
no  other  light  in  the  room,  and  I  felt  very  happy  to  en 
joy  the  privilege  of  a  seat  on  the  sill,  in  a  corner  so 
dark  that  I  was  not  seen.  I  counted  nearly  sixty  heads 
Letwecn  me  and  the  light.  How  many  there  were  on 
the  other  side,  I  could  not  see.  But  the  noisy  cheers 
gave  me  the  impression  that  the  ship  was  well  balanced. 
I  remained  until  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  then 
left  before  any  others  came  away.  I  had  previously 
read  the  book,  and  therefore  concluded  to  retire  and 
sleep  a  little ;  but  I  was  subsequently  informed  that  no 
others  left  until  the  volume  was  finished. 

The  reader  was  frequently  interrupted  by  remarks 
from  his  auditors,  who  took  the  liberty,  as  he  went 
along,  to  compare  the  characters  described  in  the  book 
with  their  own  acquaintances.  There  was  a  slaveholder 
in  the  place  by  the  name  of  Yopp,  who  owned  a  slave 
girl  called  Nancy.  It  seemed  that  Nancy  answered 
most  accurately  the  description  of  Topsy ;  for  when  the 
reading  had  fully  developed  Topsy's  peculiar  character 
istics,  a  slaveholder's  wife  cried  out, 

"Now  wasn't  that  girl  just  like  old  Yopp's  Nancy?  " 
And  they  had  their  St.  Clares,  and  Legrees,  and  all 


292  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

the  other  persons  and  things  of  which  the  "  Cabin  "  was 
constructed.  There  was  no  intimation  from  any  one 
present  that  the  picture  was  overwrought. 

While  I  was  at  Athens,  Georgia,  I  learned  that  sev 
eral  boxes  of  the  "  Cabin"  were  destroyed  in  that  city, 
while  on  their  way  to  Alabama.  But  the  merchant  who 
ordered  them,  whom  I  afterwards  met,  told  me  that  all 
the  masters  gained  by  that  bonfire,  was  the  sale  of  as 
many  more;  for  he  was  determined  that  his  family  and 
his  neighbors  should  read  it. 

"If  there  was  not  a  syllable  of  truth  in  it,"  said  he, 
"  still  I  would  have  it  read,  as  it  is  the  best  novel  that 
was  ever  written ! " 

SLAVERY   AND   CASTE. 

While  I  was  spending  a  few  days  at  G.,  where  several 
young  men  were  employed  in  hewing  timber,  one  of  them 
cut  his  foot  badly.  I  sewed  up  and  dressed  the  wound, 
and  gave  him  a  pair  of  stockings  and  a  pair  of  rubber?, 
as  he  had  none  of  his  own.  His  name  was  William 
Hardison.  He  expressed  much  gratitude  for  my  kind 
ness,  and  afterwards  he  gave  me  a  full  history  of  his  fam 
ily.  He  was  a  steady,  industrious,  intelligent  young  man. 

"My  father,"  said  he,  "was  a  Northern  man.  My 
mother  was  a  native  of  this  State,  and  owned  slaves 
when  my  father  married  her.  Once  we  were  wealthy, 
and  our  family  moved  in  the  best  circles.  But  my  father 
became  dissipated,  wasted  all  the  property,  and  sold  all 
the  slaves  except  one,  an  old  man,  who  ran  away.  Two 
hounds  followed  him.  One  of  them  was  an  old  dog, 


WAYSIDE   NOTES.  293 

that  had  caught  «  great  many  negroes ;  but  the  slave 
killed  him  with  -.*  club.  The  other  dog  forced  him  into 
a  tree. 

11  When  niy  father  came  up,  and  found  the  slave  had 
killed  his  favorite  dog,  he  ordered  him  to  come  down 
from  the  tree.  After  he  had  come  down,  he  pointed 
his  rifle  towards  the  slave,  and  commanded  him  to  cut 
up  a  hind  quarter  of  the  old  dog,  and  cat  it  raw,  with 
the  hide  and  hair.  Pompey  was  forced  to  obey,  but  he 
died  before  the  next  morning.  By  this  fatal  calamity, 
our  family  were  cut  loose  from  the  society  of  slavehold 
ers,  with  whom  we  had  always  associated  on  terms  of 
equality.  My  miserable  father  died  soon  after,  and  left 
us  in  a  truly  deplorable  condition,  without  food,  with 
out  friends!  I  went  to  a  slaveholder  one  day,  —  a 
neighbor  who  was  always  kind  and  obliging,  while  we 
were  slaveholders,  —  and  informed  him  that  we  had 
nothing  to  eat ;  and  I  asked  him  if  he  would  give  my 
mother  and  the  children  some  bread. 

'  Xo,'  said  he,  1 1  don't  want  you  around  here,  troubling 
me :  I  have  niggers  enough  to  eat  my  corn.' 

"I  then  asked,  with  great  importunity,  if  he  would 
permit  me  to  go  to  the  corn  crib,  and  take  home  a  few 
ears  of  corn  to  boil  for  supper.  This  favor  also  was 
denied  me.  This  family  always  exchanged  visits  with 
us  in  our  prosperous  days,  and  nothing  ever  occurred  to 
create  the  least  disaffection,  or  occasion  the  slightest 
neglect,  until  we  lost  caste  by  becoming  poor  and  losing 
our  slaves." 

"  Instead  of  showing  favor  to  non-slaveholding  whiten," 


294  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

said  Mr.  H.,  "the  slaveholders  oppress  them  in  every 
possible  manner,  without  regard  to  their  legal  rights. 
If  they  want  to  drive  a  poor  man  out  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  they  will  buy  the  land  on  which  his  shanty  sets, 
and  then  burn  it.  Sometimes,  poor  people  build  log 
houses  on  lands  of  which  no  owner  can  be  found  at  the 
time,  and  thus  these  houses  are  left  at  the  mercy  of  who 
ever  may  subsequently  obtain  possession  of  the  lands." 

"  Is  there  no  law  in  this  State  against  such  things,  Mr. 
H.  ?  And  will  not  public  opinion  prevent  a  man  from 
burning  his  neighbor's  house  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  I  know  not  what  the  law  is,"  answered  Mr.  H.  •  "  but 
I  know  that  slaveholders  do  as  they  please  with  the 
property  of  nonslaveholders,  who  have,  in  any  way,  dis 
pleased  them.  And  I  state  the  fact,  as  within  my  own 
knowledge,  that  the  poor  are  sometimes  compelled  to 
leave  a  neighborhood  after  their  dwellings  have  thus  been 
destroyed  by  fire.  And  often,  even  when  the  poor  man 
has  a  good  claim  to  the  land  on  which  his  house  stands, 
a  slaveholder  will  set  up  a  false  claim  to  it,  and  drive 
him  away.  The  fact  is  so  generally  understood  that  the 
courts  favor  the  slaveholders,  and  there  is  so  little  hope 
of  obtaining  redress  by  law,  that  the  nonslavcholders 
usually  submit  rather  than  contend  with  them." 

The  degradation  of  women  is  a  mark  of  heathenism 
the  world  over.  It  is  one  of  the  boasted  triumphs  of 
Christianity — justly  so  —  that  it  has  always  tended  to 
elevate  and  improve  the  condition  of  women.  And 
though  there  is  a  kind  of  refinement  and  elegance  among 
the  females  of  slavcholding  families,  —  the  tendency  of 


WAYSIDE   NOTES.  295 

the  system  is  to  degrade  them.  Especially  is  this  the 
case  among  the  slaves,  and  the  nonslaveholders. 

Of  the  former  I  hardly  need  to  speak.  The  female 
slaves  cannot  be  otherwise  than  degraded.  Subjected 
at  all  times  to  the  passions  of  the  whites,  chastity  and 
refinement  are  out  of  the  question.  They  are  stripped 
entirely  naked  to  be  punished,  not  only  on  the  planta 
tions,  but  by  the  city  marshals  in  the  cities,  to  whom 
the  masters  send  them  for  this  purpose.  And  often  they 
are  exposed  in  public  for  sale,  in  the  same  condition. 
Let  the  Northern  tourist  visit  the  slave  market,  or  the 
whipping  post,  and  he  will  frequently  behold  scenes  at 
which  the  most  degraded  African,  just  imported,  would 
1  icing  his  head  in  shame !  A  slave  woman,  entirely  na 
ked,  surrounded  by  a  profane  and  vulgar  crowd,  while 
fclio  writhes  under  the  lash,  or  is  offered,  for  purposes  of 
prostitution,  to  the  highest  bidder  !  Such  is  the  "  Chris 
tianizing  influence"  of  which  the  advocates  of  the  slave 
trade  so  loudly  boast ! 

Nor  do  the  slave  women  suffer  alone  in  this  respect. 
Among  the  poor,  ignorant,  degraded,  intemperate  non- 
slaveholders,  the  condition  of  the  females  is  wretched 
beyond  description.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in  those 
families  that  have  been  owners  of  slaves.  The  father 
and  the  sons  are  either  so  dissipated  that  they  make  no 
provision  for  their  families,  or  they  are  already  in  drunk 
ards'  graves.  Often  have  I  seen  women  who  have  been 
brought  up  in  luxury,  all  unused  to  labor,  thus  compelled 
by  reverse  of  fortune  to  work  in  the'  field.  Their  for- 


296  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

mer  acquaintances;  among  slaveholders;  neither  know 
nor  care  any  thing  about  their  condition. 

In  Wilkinson  county,  Ga.,  I  saw  two  young  ladies  at 
work  in  the  field.  They  told  me  that  the  year  before, 
1852,  they  performed  all  the  labor,  —  plowing,  planting, 
hoeing,  <fcc.;  ar;d  raised  three  bal^s  of  cotton.  They  lived 
in  Emmet,  near  ihc  Central  railroad.  This  cotton  was 
worth  there  about  forty  dollars  a  bale.  They  had  a 
widowed  mother,  and  this  was  their  only  means  of  sup 
port. 

In  another  county  on  the  Oconee  river  I  saw  an  aged 
grand-mother,  a  daughter,  and  three  grand-daughters,  all 
at  work  in  the  same  field,  hoeing  cotton.  They  had  been 
slaveholders ;  but  the  father  of  the  three  youngest  had 
squandered  his  property  in  dissipation,  and  dying  in 
poverty,  the  family  were  compelled  to  labor  in  this  way 
to  keep  themselves  from  starvation.  Such  instances  are 
common  throughout  the  whole  South. 

PREJUDICE    AGAINST   COLOR. 

The  anti-slavery  cause  has  encountered  no  greater  ob 
stacle  in  the  free  States,  than  prejudice  against  color. 
As  absurd  and  wicked  as  it  is,  it  lias  been  almost  uni 
versal, —  excluding  the  colored  race  not  only  from  so 
cial  position,  but  from  churches  and  schools,  —  from 
hotels,  steamboats,  and  railroal  cars.  This  unchristian 
prejudice  is  wearing  tr.  ray. —  and  yet,  during  tlie  ^resent 
year,  one  of  the  most  accompli;  lied  ladies  in  the  country 


WAYSIDE   NOTES.  297 

has  often  been  put  to  serious  inconvenience,  even  in 
New  England,  by  certain  brainless  puppets  of  fashion, 
who  affected  to  look  clown  upon  her  with  contempt,  —  un 
conscious  that  they  thus  exposed  themselves  to  the  con 
tempt  of  all  those  whose  good  opinion  is  of  any  conse 
quence. 

This  prejudice  against  color  has  not  only  had  a  ten 
dency  to  check  all  sympathy  for  the  slaves,  —  but  it  has 
been  the  source  of  many  foolish  objections  to  emancipa 
tion.  Men  and  women  who  carry  on  their  bodies  the 
unwashed  lilth  of  years  —  covered,  perhaps,  with  purple 
and  line  linen  —  turnup  their  noses  with  horror  at  the 
idea  of  having  a  "nigger"  around  them.  And  at  the 
thought  of  emancipation  they  picture  to  themselves  an 
innumerable  company  of  slaves,  "turned  loose  "  to  over 
run  the  North,  as  terrible  as  the  locusts  of  Egypt ! 

It  is  somewhat  surprising  to  a  Northern  man  to  find 
none  of  this  prejudice  in  the  South.  If  the  slaves  could 
be  set  at  liberty  to-day,  there  would  be  nothing  of  this 
kind  to  exclude  them  from  genteel  society.  The  whites 
arc  accustomed  now  to  associate  with  them  as  intimately, 
though  not  on  the  same  terms  of  equality,  as  with  each 
other.  You  find  none  of  that  exquisite,  rose-water  sen 
sitiveness  in  the  South  which  some  men,  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  some  women,  even,  in  the  free  States,  are  so  fond 
of  exhibiting.  If  a  colored  man  owns  slaves.  —  and  I 
regret  to  say  that  there  are  a  few  such  in  the  South, — he 
is  treated  as  courteously,  and  with  as  much  respect, 
Tvherever  lie  travels,  as  any  thin  skinned  white  dandy 
who  may  chance  to  be  in  his  company.  I  have  always 


INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

regarded  the  Northern  apologist  for  slavery  as  infinitely 
more  worthy  of  condemnation  than  the  slaveholder  him 
self,  trained  up  from  his  youth  with  Southern  views  and 
feelings.  So  this  prejudice  against  color  is  a  type  of 
meanness  beyond  anything  which  the  South  can  produce. 
The  Southron  would  scorn  it,  in 'any  such  sense  as  it 
prevails  in  the  free  States. 

We  had  in  our  company  of  passengers,  on  the  way 
from  Georgia  to  Pennsylvania,  a  middle  aged  slaveholder, 
with  a  black  woman  and  her  infant  child.  This  gentle 
man  uniformly  occupied  the  same  seat  in  the  cars  with 
the  colored  lady,  whom  he  treated  with  constant  atten 
tion.  He  conversed  with  her  freely  and  politely,  —  dan 
dled  her  baby  on  his  knee,  and  for  oujrht  that  I  knew, 
was  her  husband.  Nor  did  I  hear  any  intimation,  from 
any  one  in  the  company,  that  it  was  in  the  least  degree 
improper  or  offensive  to  have  a  colored  person  in  the 
car  or  coach,  until  we  reached  Philadelphia. 

Soon  after  the  train  left  that  city  for  the  North,  a  great 
stir  was  made  in  the  car  in  which  I  was  seated,  because 
a  colored  gentleman  had  taken  a  seat  there.  This  gen 
tleman  was  a  Mr.  Moore,  formerly  a  slave.  lie  had  re 
sided  a  few  years  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  married 
an  intelligent  colored  lady,  and  had  accumulated  a  proper 
ty  worth  some  two  thousand  dollars.  The  fugitive  slave 
bill  had  passed,  and  his  master  had  come  to  that  city  to 
arrest  him.  He  had  only  time  to  fly,  after  notice  of  his 
danger,  without  taking  any  measures  to  secure  his  prop 
erty.  He  was  a  fine  looking,  gentlemanly  man ;  and  when 
he  came  into  the  cars,  he  was  neatly  dressed. 


WAYSIDE  NOTES.  299 

I  was  sitting  on  the  front  seat,  facing  the  pa-ssengers, 
when  the  conductor  went  to  Mr.  Moore,  and  informed 
him  that  the  passengers  objected  to  his  occupying  a  seat 
in  that  car,  and  that  he  must  therefore  take  a  seat  in  one 
of  another  class.  Mr.  M.  followed  the  conductor  for 
ward  to  the  door.  I  rose  up,  and  said  to  the  conductor 
that  I  had  just  traveled  hundreds  of  miles  in  the  slave 
States,  —  that  I  had  heard  no  one  complain  because  col 
ored  persons  were  allowed  to  sit  in  the  same  cars  with 
us,  —  and  that  I  felt  indignant  and  ashamed  to  see  a 
distinction  made  as  soon  as  we  came  into  a  free  State. 
And  I  told  him  that  if  any  individual  must  leave  that 
car  on  that  account,  I  would  give  up  my  seat  to  the  col 
ored  passenger,  and  leave,  myself.  Dr.  Bailey,  of  the 
National  Era,  who  was  sitting  near,  also  interceded ;  and 
Mr.  Moore  was  allowed  to  remain.  How  long  will  the 
people  of  the  North  cherish  a  feeling  so  repugnant  to  all 
the  dictates  not  only  of  humanity,  but  of  common  sense  ? 


XXIII. 

THE  GIANT  SLAVE. 


"  But  slaves  who  once  conceive  the  glowing  thought 

Of  freedom,  in  that  hope  itself  possess 

All  that  the  contest  calls  for  —  spirit,  (strength, 

The  scorn  of  dr. n^'jv,  the  undying  hope, 

The  surest  presage  of  the  good  they  seek." 

COWPER. 

MUCH  lias  been  said  of  the  equality  of  races.  The 
discussion  generally  is  profitless.  Races,  like  individu 
als,  are  unlike ;  and  therefore  the  question  of  equality 
can  never  be  settled.  Each,  in  some  qualities,  excels 
the  others.  "With  all  the  boasting  of  our  Anglo-Saxon 
stock,  it  is  undeniable  that  the  African  race,  under  equal 
advantages,  would  excel  us  in  music  and  poetry.  And 
who  shall  say  that  the  fine  arts  are  not  quite  as  impor 
tant  as  the  more  solid  endowments  which,  perhaps,  the 
Creator  has  given  in  greater  measure  to  us  ?  The  rights 
of  man  are  dependent  on  neither.  These  God  has  given 
alike  to  all,  of  every  nation,  of  every  degree  of  culture. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  even  among  barbarous  tribes 
of  men,  we  find  occasionally  one  whom  the  All-wise  has 
rarely  endowed,  — one  who  possesses  powers  and  abil 
ities  far  above  Ms  fellows.  Sucli  was  Black  Hawk 


THE   GIANT    SLAVE.  301 

among  the  Indians.  And  in  the  South  there  may  he 
found  here  and  there  a  slave  of  remarkable  strength, 
both  of  body  and  mind.  They  appear  to  be  exceptions 
to  the  general  rule,  standing  forth  among  their  oppressed 
and  degraded  brethren, 

"  above  the  rest 
In  shape  and  gesture  proudly  emminent." 

Such,  undoubtedly,  was  "Dread,"  whose  terrible  death 
I  have  already  recorded.  It  was  not  my  fortune  to  see 
him,  —  as  he  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  slave  system  before  I 
visited  the  neighborhood  where  he  lived,  and  suffered, 
and  died.  B  ut  I  gathered  up  what  little  could  be  learned 
of  his  history,  and  leave  it  in  this  volume,  a  feeble  trib 
ute  to  his  memory. 

"  The  best  temperance  lecturer  I  ever  heard,"  said  a 
Southern  merchant  to  me,  u  was  a  giant  negro  up  river, 
whom  I  once  heard  speak  on  that  subject.1'  This  was 
"Hannibal,"  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

I  had  occasion  to  cross  the river.  It  was  a 

dark,  stormy  day,  and  the  waters  were  swollen  by  the 
freshet.  The  river  was  deep,  and  wide,  and  the  ferry 
boat  was  drawn  across  by  means  of  a  rope,  fastened  to 
a  tree  on  either  side.  I  noticed,  as  I  entered  the  boat, 
that  the  ferryman  —  a  slave  —  was  a  man  of  giant  stat 
ure,  and  prodigious  muscular  development.  He  was 
about  six  and  a  half  feet  high,  of  admirable  proportions, 
and  though  not  by  any  means  corpulent,  he  weighed,  as  I 
afterwards  learned,  over  three  hundred  pounds.  Though 
the  current-was  strong,  he  held  the  boat  steady  by  the 
rope,  and  rapidly  drew  it  across  the  river.  Like  all 


302  INSIDE   VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

slaves  who  mingle  in  good  society,  he  was  affable  and 
polite  in  his  manners ;  but  unlike  most  slaves,  instead 
of  that  cringing  look  which  nothing  but  a  consciousness 
of  degradation  can  produce,  there  was  a  native  dignity 
and  manliness  in  his  bearing,  which  even  his  condition 
could  not  conceal ;  —  a  divinity  that  not  even  slavery 
could  tarnish  or  degrade.  As  he  assisted  me  to  the 
shore,  he  asked, 

"Are  you  not  from  the  North,  sir  ?  " 

"  Why  do  you  think  so  ?  "  I  asked,  with  some  surprise. 

"0,"  said  he,  "  I  have  been  across  the  river  with  so 
many  persons,  not  only  from  all  parts  of  this  country, 
but  from  foreign  countries,  that  I  can  generally  tell 
where  any  one  is  from." 

"Well,"  said  I,  "you  have  guessed  right  in  my  case- 
I  am  from  the  North." 

I  then  left  the  ferryman  alone,  and  walked  to  the 
village,  half  a  mile  distant  During  the  night,  a  large 
cypress  tree,  which  the  waters  had  brought  down  from 
its  native  bank,  was  carried  against  Hannibal's  feny 
rope,  uprooting  the  trees  to  which  it  was  fastened  on 
either  side.  The  next  morning  I  came  down  to  the 
river,  intending  to  recross.  The  fact  was  known  in  the 
village  that  the  rope  had  been  carried  away,  and  that  no 
one  could  cross  until  the  waters  had  abated  so  that 
another  guide  rope  could  be  stretched  over.  Hence  no 

one, except  myself,  who  had  not  heard  that  the  rope 

was  gone,  —  came  down  to  the  ferry  house.  This  was 
a  little  log  hut,  of  which  Hannibal  was  the  only  occu 
pant  ;  although  he  had  had  a  wife  and  two  children;  nine 


THE   GIANT   SLAVE.  303 

miles  above,  on  the  river,  until  within  a  few  weeks.  As 
I  stepped  into  his  lowly  cabin,  which  had  neither  win- 
clow  nor  door,  Hannibal  arose,  and  repeating  my  name, 
lie  addressed  me  freely  and  cordially,  as  if  I  had  been 
an  old  school  mate.  He  said  that  he  desired  me  to  ex 
cuse  this  familiarity,  as  he  had  been  up  to  the  tavern, 
and  had  learned  my  name  j  and  he  earnestly  requested 
me  to  inform  him  how  the  free  colored  people  were  get 
ting  along  in  my  State. 

I  saw,  at  a  glance,  that  I  was  in  the  presence  of  no 
ordinary  man.  He  had  a  broad>  high  forehead,  a  very 
large  head,  containing  a  massive  brain,  active  and  power 
ful  ;  and,  although  apparently  sincere  and  friendly,  yet 
he  looked  so  metaphysical,  dark,  and  mysterious  withal, 
that  I  feared  to  express  any  sympathy  for  him  or  for 
his  race,  lest  he  should  betray  me  to  his  master. 

"  I  know  bat  little  about  the  colored  people,"  I  replied. 
"  I  never  saw  a  negro  in  the  town  where  I  was  brought 
up ;  and  I  advise  a  slave  who  has  a  kind  master  to  be 
contented  where  he  is." 

Hannibal  looked  sad  and  dejected  at  my  reply,  but  I 
was  afraid  to  trust  him.  I  left  him  abruptly,  and  strolled 
up  the  river  a  mile  or  two,  looking  at  the  magnificent 
forests  of  oak  and  pine  that  covered  the  banks.  A  few 
hours  passed,  and  I  came  back  again.  When  I  walked 
softly  and  slowly  up  to  Hannibal's  hut,  and  looked  in 
upon  him,  I  just  had  a  glimpse  of  a  small,  dingy  book, 
as  it  was  flung  from  his  hand  under  a  board,  by  the  side 
of  the  rock  chimney. 

"  Hannibal !  can  you  read  ?  "  said  I. 


304  INSIDE   VIEW    OF   SLAVERY. 

He  sat  motionless  so  long  before  speaking,  that  I  be 
gan  to  fear  I  had  either  troubled  him,  or  that  he  was 
intending  to  trouble  me,  when  he  sprang  up  from  his 
stool,  looked  me  firmly  in  the  face,  and  asked,  earnestly, 

"  Wont  you  betray  me,  master  ?  " 

"Betray  you  ?  Hannibal !     No  ;  I  am  your  friend." 

"  My  friend  ?  "  said  he,  with  deep  emotion.  "  What 
am  I  to  understand  by  that  ?  " 

"  Why,  that  I  am  not  only  your  friend,  but  the  friend 
of  your  race"  said  I. 

"  Indeed,  sir ! "  ejaculated  the  slave.  "And  in  what 
way  are  you  the  friend  of  rny  race  ?  " 

I  now  saw  plainly  that  he  wanted  a  friend,  and  I  re 
plied,  "  I  wish  that  you  all  enjoyed  the  same  liberty  that 
I  enjoy." 

He  turned  to  the  chimney,  raised  the  board,  and  took 
out  the  book.  It  was  Robinson  Crusoe  !  This  was  the 
first  time  he  had  read  it;  and  he  was  so  deeply  absorbed 
in  the  story,  —  not  expecting  any  one  down  from  the 
village  to  cross  the  river,  —  that  I  had  surprised  him. 

« There,  "  said  he,  handing  me  the  book  with  a  trem 
bling  hand,  "is  what  I  was  reading.  Did  you  ever  read 
that  book,  master  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  Hannibal !  That  was  one  of  the  first  books 
I  ever  read  when  I  was  a  little  boy.  It  is  a  beautiful 
story,  too." 

"A  story,  master  !  I  thoup-ht  it  was  real.  I  am  sorry 
it  was  made  tip;  for  I  \va-thinkioir  ho*v  happy  I  shou! .1 
be  on  such  an  island,  where  1  could  be  waster  awhile/' 

''But  how  came  you  to  be  able  to  read  it,  Hannibal  ?  " 


THE   GIANT    SLATE  305 

He  went  to  the  hiding  place,  and  took  out  Garrison's 
work  on  colonization,  two  copies  of  Leavitt's  Emanci 
pator,  and  a  mutilated  copy  of  the  New  Testament, 
saying, 

"I  have  begged  these  of  Northern  men,  —  promising 
them  that  after  they  were  gone,  I  would  drop  them 
where  the  slaveholders  would  find  them.  Now,  master, 
I  will  tell  you  ;  only  one  man  in  the  world,  besides  you, 
has  ever  known  that  I  can  read  a  word.  That  was  my 
young  master  John.  My  mother  nursed  him  at  the  same 
time  she  nursed  me.  We  were  just  about  the  same  age. 
When  master  John  was  sent  to  the  academy  here,  and 
learned  his  letters,  he  taught  them  to  me.  As  soon  as 
my  old  master  found  out  that  John  was  teaching  me, 
he  forbade  it.  But  I  loved  John,  and  he  loved  me  also. 
I  always  had  considerable  influence  over  him,  and  could 
persuade  or  hire  him  to  do  anything  for  me.  I  told  him 
that  I  would  never  reveal  the  fact,  if  he  would  teach 
me  all  that  he  learned  himself.  John  had  confidence  in 
me,  and  whatever  he  was  taught  at  school,  he  taught 
me.  When  he  began  to  read  Latin,  he  called  me  mas 
ter ;  for  he  left  his  grammar  with  me  nights,  and  I 
learned  faster  than  he  did  by  day.  Sometimes  he  came 
to  our  hut  Sundays,  and  he  said  I  gave  him  better  in^ 
s traction  than  he  got  at  the  academy. 

"And  now,  master,  I  will  tell  you  why  I  asked  you 
about  the  free  colored  people  at  the  North.  My  young 
master  used  to  tell  me  that  he  meant  to  make  me  free ; 
but  he  died  suddenly,  and  nothing  was  done  about  it. 
My  old  master  has  always  been  kind  to  me,  and  I  have 


306  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

always  tried  to  be  contented  with  my  fate,  although  my 
labors  have  been  very  hard,  and  my  comforts  few.  / 
had  a  wife,  but  she  was  taken  from  me  two  weeks  ago! 
She  belonged  to  another  man,  nine  miles  above  here. 
I  never  let  her  know  that  I  could  read ;  for  I  knew  that 
she  was  liable  at  any  time  to  be  sold,  and  in  many  ways 
the  fact  would  become  known.  She  had  a  cruel  master, 
and  did  not  have  enough  corn  to  eat.  I  used  to  carry 
food  and  other  things  to  her  and  to  my  two  little  boys. 
My  master  knew  it,  and  did  not  forbid  it.  I  complained 
of  the  treatment  which  my  wife  received  from  her  mas 
ter  ;  for  I  loved  Nelly,  and  always  shall !  Her  master 
hated  me,  after  he  found  out  that  I  talked  about  his  be 
ing  a  hard  master  to  my  wife  ;  and  to  punish  me,  he  sold 
her  to  be  carried  off  two  hundred  miles  up  river.  Hy 
master  offered  seven  hundred  dollars  more  for  Kelly 
than  she  was  sold  for  ;  but  her  master  would  not  have 
me  gratified  so  much  as  to  have  her  live  with  me.  An 
other  man,  —  whose  wife  lives  in  this  place,  —  was  sold 
by  Nelly's  master  at  the  same  time,  and  taken  to  the 
same  plantation  where  she  is.  He  ran  away  and  came 
back  here  to  see  his  wife,  and  he  told  me  that  Nelly 
wanted  him  to  let  me  know  where  she  was. 

''Now,"  he  continued,  "I  am  resolved  to  run  away. 
I  have  three  hundred  dollars  by  me  that  my  master  has 
no  knowledge  of;  and  I  shall  either  go  up  to  the  neigh 
borhood  where  Nelly  is,  find  a  hiding  place  in  the  woods, 
get  her  with  me,  hire  the  slaves  to  bring  us  provisions, 
and  so  live  together  as  long  as  we  can,  and  suffer  what 
ever  may  come  upon  us ;  —  or  I  will  make  the  attempt 


THE    GIANT    SLAVE.  30  7 

to  reach  the  North,  where  I  can  be  free.  I  am  now  forty 
years  old.  I  have  often  cursed  God  for  my  fate  !  Death, 
to  me,  would  always  have  been  a  welcome  relief !  I  pre 
fer  it  now  to  the  prospect  of  living  longer  in  my  present 
condition.  And  while  I  have  the  strength,  and  the  will) 
I  ain  resolved  on  one  effort  for  a  change,  come  what  may  ! 
Can  I  get  to  a  free  State  ?  " 

"  How  ?  "  said  I.     "Across  the  country  ?  " 

"  0,  no!  "he  replied,  quickly.  "It  is  a  long  way; 
and  I  am  so  much  larger  than  most  slaves,  every  one 
who  sees  me  would  demand  a  pass.  All  the  hounds, 
and  half  the  devils  who  own  them,  would  chase  me.  I 
should  probably  be  taken,  or  killed,  in  a  short  time ; 
both  if  either,  I  tell  you !  But  can't  I  go  down  river  in 
a  light  bateau,  in  the  night,  and  find  some  friend  in  the 
city,  who  will  help  me  on  board  a  vessel  bound  North, 
and  so  escape  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  !  "  said  I.  "  There  would  not  be  one  chance 
in  a  thousand  for  you  to  reach  a  free  State  in  that  way. 
But  I  can  plan  to  make  you  free  in  a  single  day,  after  I 
arrive  at  New  York." 

"  How  ?     How  ?  "  he  asked,  with  great  earnestness. 

"  I  can  raise  the  money,"  I  replied,  "  to  purchase  your 
freedom." 

"Ah,  sir ! "  said  the  despairing  slave,  "the  man  would 
be  shot,  who  should  come  here,  with  any  sum  of  money, 
proposing  to  buy  me  and  carry  me  North.  The  slave 
holders  here  know  that  I  know  all  about  slavery,  and 
that  I  could  tell  what  I  know ;  and  never  shall  I  be  al 
lowed  to  go  to  a  free  State  with  their  consent. " 


308  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

"I  used  to  talk  on  tlic  subject  of  temperance.  The 
slaves  were  very  intemperate  here,  and  niy  master  told 
me  that  I  might  hold  meetings,  and  talk  to  them.  Soon 
after  I  commenced  talking  publicly,  the  slaves  began  to 
quit  drinking.  They  came  a  great  distance  to  hear  me. 
Not  only  the  slaves,  but  their  masters  also  came  in 
crowds.  The  latter  expressed  great  astonishment  that 
I  could  use  so  good  language,  and  they  said  it  must  be 
inspiration,  —  not  knowing  that  I  went  to  the  academy 
with  John,  and  that  he  taught  me  much  of  what  little  he 
learned  at  college,  after  he  came  home  from  the  North." 

I  suggested  several  plans  for  his  escape,  but  no  one 
that  was  feasible,  in  his  opinion.  I  asked  him  if  it  was  a 
common  thing  in  that  neighborhood,  where  there  were 
five  hundred  slaves,  for  them  to  separate  husband  and 
wife.  He  said, 

"I  and  Scipio,  my  half  brother,  whose  wife  has  just 
been  sold,  were  reckoning  up  last  night,  how  many  we 
know  who  have  been  separated  since  we  were  married, 
six  years  ago  ;  and  we  reckoned  up  thirty  ! " 

I  remained  there  several  days,  and  during  that  time 
had  several  interviews  with  this  remarkable  slave.  And 
the  more  I  saw  him,  the  more  strongly  was  I  impressed 
with  his  natural  greatness  and  power,  —  not,  indeed,  en 
tirely  destitute  of  cultivation.  What  would  I  not  have 
given  to  deliver  him  from  the  terrible  load  that  pressed 
him  down !  We  often  conversed  on  the  subject  of  his 
escape,  and  I  left  him,  not  without  some  hope  of  soon 
meeting  him  in  a  land  where  "  the  slave  would  be  a  man." 

About  the  time  I  was  ready  to  start,  the  waters  of  the 


THE    GIANT    SLATE.  309 

river  had  partially  subsided,  and  Hannibal's  master, 
with  Scipio,  came  down  to  stretch  across  another  rope. 
I  concluded  to  take  the  same  boat  with  them.  The  cur 
rent  was  still  strong,  as  the  river  had  not  yet  settled 
within  its  banks ;  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  row 
up  stream  farther  than  usual  before  crossing,  or  the  cur 
rent  would  carry  us  down  below  the  landing  on  the  op 
posite  shore.  Below  this  landing  there  was  an  alder 
swamp,  through  which  we  must  wade  if  we  fell  below 
the  wharf.  Before  we  had  gone  up  far  enough  to  insure 
a  -afe  landing,  the  master  ordered  the  boat  to  be  headed 
across.  Hannibal  remonstrated,  and  said  that  we  should 
certainly  fall  below  the  wharf.  But  the  master  said, 
—  '-head  her  about/'  —  not  regarding  the  opinion  of  the 
slave,  who  had  a  life-long  acquaintance  with  the  river. 

He  soon  perceived,  however,  that  the  current  was 
stronger  than  he  had  anticipated,  and  that  we  were  in 
danger  of  being  carried  below  the  wharf;  and  he  said 
to  Hannibal,  "  you  don't  pull,  boy."  The  next  dip,  the 
oar  fell  deep  in  the  waters,  and  the  "  boy "  pulled  so 
hard  that  he  shivered  it  in  pieces !  It  was  made  of 
sound  hard  pine,  and  was  about  four  inches  in  diameter. 
I  expected  to  hear  the  master  scold  when  he  heard  the 
crash  of  the  oar,  and  saw  that  we  should  fail  to  reach 
the  wharf;  but  he  laughed,  and  exclaimed, 

"  It  is  a  gone  case  with  us  now,  boys  !  We  have  got 
to  wade." 

And  so  it  was.  Instead  of  being  landed  at  the  wharf, 
we  were  run  into  the  swamp  below.  The  master 
jumped  out  where  the  cold  water  —  for  it  was  win- 


310  INSIDE  VIEW   OF  SLAVERY. 

ter — was  up  to  his  waist.  But  the  boys  said  the  pas 
senger  was  not  to  blame,  and  they  pulled  the  boat  over 
and  through  the  alders,  about  forty  rods,  where  I  stepped 
out  in  water  so  shallow  as  not  to  run  over  my  boots. 

Here  I  left  Hannibal — receiving  in  sadness  his 
parting  blessing.  And  his  last  words  to  me  were;  — 
u  I  shall  start  within  a  fortnight" 


XXIV. 

THE  ETHIOPIAN  SOCRATES- 


"  Yes,  dark-souled  chieftain  !  —  if  the  light 
Of  mild  Religion's  heavenly  ray 

Unveiled  not  to  thy  mental  sight 
The  lowlier  and  the  purer  way,  — 

Let  not  the  favored  white  man  name 

Thy  stern  appeal,  with  words  of  blame." 


FEW  Northern  men,  probably,  have  ever  had  a  better 
view  of  slavery  than  I  had.  It  may  seem  to  those  who 
have  read  the  preceding  pages  that  I  have  portrayed 
only  its  darker  features.  To  some  extent  this  is  true. 
An  inside  view  of  slavery  could  not  be  otherwise.  What 
ever  fairer  and  better  aspects  it  presents,  they  are  all 
external,  and  have  so  often  been  presented  to  the  pub 
lic  that  it  has  been  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  reproduce 
them.  And  while  I  do  not  deny  the  truth  of  such  rep 
resentations,  as  exhibiting  simply  the  outside  of  the  sys 
tem,  I  claim  for  that  which  is  less  exposed,  and  less 
noticed,  at  least  an  equal  importance,  in  order  fully  to 
understand  the  subject. 

I  cannot  bring  this  volume  to  a  close  more  appropri 
ately  than  with  the  following  story,  from  a  recent  number 


312  INSIDE    VIEW    OF    SLAVERY. 

of  the  N.  Y.  Independent.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  that 
beautiful  and  popular  writer,  who,  I  believe,  is  only 
known  to  the  public  by  her  nomme  de plume,  "Minnie 
Myrtle."  She  assures  me  that  the  narrative  may  be  relied 
upon  as  correct  in  every  particular,  even  in  the  language 
used  by  the  poor  slave.  It  was  related  to  her  by  a  citi 
zen  of  Baltimore,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  who  received  it  from  the  Judge  who  presided 
at  the  trial.  No  one  can  read  it  without  feeling  that 
there  are  powers  and  capacities,  both  of  doing  and  suf 
fering,  in  the  African  race,  far  above  what  he  has  been 
accustomed  to  believe.  And  if,  in  view  of  such  facts, 
there  are  any  who  are  willing  to  volunteer  with  their 
apologies  for  slaveholders,  to  debauch  the  public  heart 
with  "  South-Side  Views,"  and  Scriptural  defenses,  I  am 
fully  pursuaded  that  the  only  way  such  men  could  be 
convinced  of  the  enormities  of  slavery  would  be  to  ap 
ply  the  iron  to  their  own  limbs,  and  the  lash  to  their 
own  backs,  until  they  could  "  remember  those  in  bonds  as 
bound  with  them." 

Many  years  ago,  said  an  aged  gentleman  to  me,  I 
was  traveling  among  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  when 
one  of  those  terrible  storms  arose  which  are  known  only 
among  the  mountains  j  when  the  rain  falls  in  sheets,  and 
the  thunder  roars  in  one  continuous  crash  and  peal,  seem 
ing  as  if  the  hills  would  be  shaken  from  their  founda 
tions,  and  the  heavens  gleam  like  a  mass  of  fire  which 
the  drenching  waters  cannot  quench.  We  were  a  long 
distance  from  any  village,  and  for  a  long  time  looked  in 
vain  for  a  temporary  shelter,  but  at  length  came  in  sight 


THE   ETHIOPIAN   SOCRATES.  313 

of  a  small  inn,  which  our  little  party  filled  to  overflow 
ing.  Soon  another  party  arrived,  which  the  pitiless 
storm  had  driven  to  the  same  shelter.  But  the  landlord 
was  more  pitiless  still,  and  rudely  told  them  that  he  had 
no  room  for  more.  But  as  we  were  all  of  one  family, 
we  offered  to  share  with  our  new  comers  half  our  own 
accommodations,  and  were  soon  on  such  terms  of  ac 
quaintanceship  with  a  cultivated  gentleman  and  his  intel 
ligent  daughters,  as  a  storm  and  the  close  proximity  of 
a  country  inn  know  best  how  to  produce. 

Before  dark  the  storm  had  ceased,  and  the  moon  arose 
in  all  her  queenly  beauty,  inviting  us  to  sit  upon  the 
broad  piazza  and  enjoy  the  evening  air.  Our  new  friends 
were  from  a  more  southern  clime,  and  commenced  con 
versation  by  asking  if  we  had  heard  of  a  sad  instance 
of  wrong  and  crime  which  occurred  not  lon<r  ago  in  a 
neighboring  county.  As  things  of  that  kind  did  not  then 
so  frequently  find  their  way  into  the  public  prints  as  in 
these  days,  we  had  seen  no  allusion  to  the  matter,  and 
listened  with  unspeakable  emotion  whilst  the  gentleman 
related  to  us  the  following  story : 

"  A  Southern  trader  had  been  commissioned  to  pur 
chase  a  blacksmith,  and  to  pay  any  price  for  one  of  su 
perior  skill  and  qualifications,  wherever  he  might  be 
found.  In  his  roamings  about  the  country  he  heard  of 
one  belonging  to  a  rich  lady,  but  doubted  about  being 
able  to  obtain  him,  as  necessity  would  not  compel  her  to 
part  with  him,  and  he  had  been  long  a  faithful  servant 
in  her  family.  She  was  sick,  too,  and  would  not,  as  a 
27 


314  INSIDE   VIEW   OF   SLAVEEY. 

dying  act,  wish  to  sell  from  his  wife  and  children  one 
who  had  proved  of  such  invaluable  service  to  her. 

"  But  a  thousand  dollars  proved  a  temptation  which 
even  a  dying  woman  could  not  resist,  and  the  bargain 
was  finished,  and  the  soul  and  body  of  a  noble  man  con 
signed  as  property  to  a  heartless  trader,  without  a  word 
of  consultation  with  him  on  the  subject.  On  being  called 
and  informed  of  the  transfer,  he  exclaimed  in  bitter  ag 
ony,  '  What  have  I  done  to  deserve  this  ?  Have  I  not 
been  a  faithful  servant,  laboring  night  and  day  for  my 
mistress,  without  ever  in  a  single  instance  refusing  to 
obey  her  orders  ? '  Here  his  voice  choked  so  that  he 
could  not  speak,  as  he  seemed  overwhelmed  with  a  sense 
of  the  wrong  which  had  been  done  him,  and  of  his  help 
lessness  ;  but  he  soon  added,  '  Well,  I  know  I  am  a  poor 
slave,  and  must  submit  to  my  fate,  but  it  is  hard.' 

"  The  trader  was  neither  moved  to  compassion  nor 
kindness,  and  he  approached  to  place  upon  his  limbs  the 
galling  fetters,  which  were  only  the  symbols  of  a  more 
galling  servitude,  when  the  negro  ventured  again  to 
remonstrate.  He  did  not  ask  for  freedom,  or  to  be  re 
turned  to  his  mistress.  Alas !  the  thought  of  her  must 
have  been  bitterness  indeed  to  him  now —  but  he  asked 
the  one  little  boon  of  being  permitted  to  see  his  wife 
and  children  before  he  was  separated  from  them  for 
ever. 

"  <  I  know/  he  said,  '  I  am  your  slave.  You  have 
bought  me  and  paid  for  me,  and  I  am  bound  to  obey  you 
This  I  will  not  refuse  to  do.  But  I  have  a  wife  and  lit- 


THE  ETHIOPIAN   SOCRATES-  315 

tie  children  two  miles  from  here,  with  whom  I  have  lived 
very  happy.  "Will  you  not  permit  me  to  see  them  once 
more  before  I  go  ?  I  promise  solemnly  I  will  return 
to-morrow  morning;  and  go  with  you  and  do  your  bid 
ding  without  a  murmur.' 

"  l  No,'  said  the  trader,  'you  cannot  go.' 

" '  But  oh,  it  is  very  hard  that  I  cannot  see  my  wife 
and  children  before  I  go,  and  bid  them  farewell.  I  am 
a  man  of  truth,  and  I  promise  faithfully  to  return  to 
morrow  morning  if  you  will  let  me  go.' 

"  l  No,'  was  the  indignant  answer ;  l  you  cannot  go ; 
and  you  may  as  well  come  along  without  any  more  fuss.' 

" l  Well,'  answered  the  honest  and  injured  husband 
and  father,  '  I  must  submit.  I  cannot  help  myself.  But 

I  tell  you  plainly  I  will  never  serve  you ;  I  will  never 
perform  a  single  act  for  your  benefit.' 

"  <  Oh,  I  am  not  troubled  about  that,'  said  the  trader ; 

I 1  know  how  to  deal  with  such  as  you,  and  have  no  fears 
about  your  obeying  my  commands.'     And  he  placed  the 
manacles  upon  his  wrists  and  ankles,  gave  him  a  blow 
from  his  whip,  and  he  was  driven  away. 

"  How  the  proud  spirit  chafed  and  writhed  in  the  fet 
ters  I  But,  as  he  said,  there  was  no  help.  For  several 
days  he  was  detained  at  a  station-house,  till  a  large  gang 
was  collected,  when  they  were  marched  off  towards  their 
Southern  destination.  There  was  no  further  remon 
strance,  and  no  attempt  at  escape ;  till  with  feet  sore 
and  bleeding  from  days  and  nights  of  constant  tramping 
upon  thorny  paths  and  burning  sands,  they  encamped 
upon  the  borders  of  a  running  stream  for  a  little  rest. 


316  INSIDE  VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

The  men  reclined  in  their  chains  upon  the  ground,  and 
the  women  were  strewed  in  heaps  among  the  baggage 
of  the  wagons.  The  moon  shone  clear  and  bright,  and 
scarcely  a  breath  of  air  stirred  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
above  their  heads,  and  all  were  asleep.  It  was  not  a 
night  to  favor  crime ;  yet  revenge  burned  so  hotly  in  the 
bosom  of  the  outraged  negro  that  he  could  not  longer 
delay.  His  trade  had  made  him  familiar  with  iron  links, 
and  with  a  little  application  of  his  skill  his  bonds  were 
loosened,  and  he  was  free.  But  he  did  not  attempt  to 
fly.  He  crept  stealthily  to  the  tent  of  the  trader,  and 
with  one  blow  of  the  axe  severed  his  head  from  his 
body!  —  then  returned  to  his  resting  place  and  slept 
soundly  till  morning  I 

"  The  break  of  day  revealed  the  terrible  deed,  and 
the  excitement  soon  spread  from  the  negro  camp  to  the 
neighboring  settlements,  and  crowds  gathered  in  eager 
curiosity  to  learn  the  particulars  of  the  crime.  Several 
were  put  to  the  torture  in  attempts  to  make  them  con 
fess,  but  the  guilty  one  not  wishing  others  to  suffer  for 
what  he  had  done,  came  forward  and  gave  himself  up  to 
justice.  Double  manacles  were  put  upon  his  limbs,  and 
he  was  confined  in  jail  until  the  day  of  trial.  On  being 
told  by  the  judge  that  he  would  have  the  benefit  of  coun 
sel  and  every  advantage  which  the  law  could  give,  not 
withstanding  his  confession,  he  again  disclaimed  all  pre 
tensions  to  innocence,  and  expressed  no  desire  to  live. 
'  I  killed  the  man,'  said  he, '  and  I  did  it  after  deliberate 
reflection,  and  still  think  his  hard-hearted  cruelty  justified 
the  act.  I  am  not  sorry.' 


-  THE   ETHIOPIAN   SOCRATES.  317 

"  There  was  a  sort  of  mock  trial,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  verdict  of  <  Guilty,'  was  solemnly  rendered,  and  the 
accused  was  asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say  to  the  court. 
With  great  dignity,  and  no  visible  emotion  he  arose  and 
said: 

"  '  I  am  grateful  for  your  kindness,  and  for  the  oppor 
tunity  you  gave  me  of  escaping  death;  but  I  have  no 
wish  to  live.  I  am  cruelly  separated  from  all  that  is 
most  dear  to  me,  and  life  is  no  longer  of  any  value.  I 
do  not  wish  to  live,  and  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  and  I 
have  only  one  favor  to  ask  of  earthly  friends.  I  would 
like  to  know  that  the  day  of  my  execution  is  fixed  on 
the  4th  of  July,  which  will  soon  be  here.  It  is  the  day 
you  celebrate  as  the  anniversary  of  your  emancipation 
from  the  slavery  of  a  foreign  despotism.  If  you  grant 
me  this  request,  the  day  will  be  the  anniversary  of  my 
emancipation  from  a  bondage  much  more  galling  than 
was  ever  inflicted  upon  you*  From  that  day  I  shall  be 
as  free  as  you ! ' 

"  He  who  spoke  was  of  Ethiop  blackness,  but  his 
manner  was  as  calm  as  that  of  the  Athenian  philosopher 
when  the  hemlock  was  presented  to  his  lips,  and  his 
whole  demeanor  as  dignified  and  respectful.  Among  the 
audience  there  was  a  breathless  stillness,  which  for  a 
long  time  was  not  interrupted,  and  all  departed  under 
the  influence  of  deep  and  impressive  solemnity. 

"  Neither  in  the  prison  nor  on  the  scaffold  was  there 
any  change  in  the  guilty  man,  and  nothing  could  wring 
from  him  anything  like  a  confession  that  he  had  sinned 
in  taking  the  life  of  one  so  inhuman.  He  had  rid  the 


318  INSIDE  VIEW   OF   SLAVERY. 

earth  of  a  monster,  and  was  willing  to  die  for  the  deed. 

"  His  mind  was  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  and  we 
leave  him  for  God  to  judge.  And  we  also  leave  Him  to 
judge  those  who  keep  in  darkness  millions  of  immortal 
souls,  and  so  imbrutalize  and  degrade  them  that  con 
science  is  without  life,  and  deliberate  crime  without  hor 
ror. 

"  But  it  is  pleasant  to  add  that  there  were  accounts 
immediately  of  the  liberation  of  many  who  had  been 
kept  in  bondage  in  that  region,  proving  that  the  dying 
words  of  a  negro  could  affect  the  heart." 

"  Oh,  where's  the  man  so  lowly, 
Condemned  to  things  unholy, 

Who,  could  he  burst 

His  chains  at  first, 
Would  pine  beneath  them  slowly  ? 

What  soul  whose  wrongs  degrade  it, 
Would  wait  till  time  decayed  it, 

When  thus  its  wing 

At  once  may  spring 
To  the  throne  of  Him  who  made  it  ?" 


ft 


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